Academia
by Aliathe
Summary: In one world, Hinata is a little less kind, a little more desperate, and a whole lot colder. [au] [drabbles] [dead!fic]
1. Drive

**Summary:**

 _In one world, Hinata is a little less kind, a little more desperate, and a whole lot colder. And, well, the Byakugan **is** the most perceptive doujutsu. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [ Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **.**

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given a more character development and realistic reasoning for Epilogue!SasuSaku. Because, seriously? Just… no explanation whatsoever for that one. None. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(conviction of the cowardly)**

 **[Age 3]**

The first three years of Hinata's life are as well as can be expected.

Her mother loves her, gently, softly, her father is distant, harsh, demanding.

She is safe in the Hyuuga Compound, ushered to and fro by countless caretakers, for even if Hiashi is disappointed at having no male heir, she is still his only child, and thus counts as heiress-apparent. As heiress-apparent, much is expected of her, including both mental and physical prowess.

By the time she's 1, she's already drowning in tutors and instructors.

But she dislikes fighting, disliked it back then, dislikes harming others, and would often shirk her duties as soon as she could in order to escape to the safe haven of her lovely mother's quarters.

There, her mother would tell her stories, sing her songs, stitch and embroider and draw and paint and flower-raise and flower-arrange and construct elaborate updos, held in place by elegant pins.

Although her health was bad and her body was sickly and her smile was weary and tired, her mother's mind never wavered, nor her quiet determination and loving acceptance, confined to bed though she was.

… Hinata admired her mother a lot, and not just because, unlike her father, who always criticized her efforts and demeaned them with a disappointed, disapproving frown, her mother loved her unconditionally.

Her mother was strong in spirit, gentle in spirit; she could manage to be strong in her gentleness.

Hinata wanted to be as strong and as gentle as her mother, but it always seemed like she could ever only manage 'gentle', not 'strong'.

Nevermind that Jyuuken was 'Gentle Fist'. 'Gentle Fist' was _strong._

"You lack drive," one of her taijutsu instructors had commented disparagingly one day, after hearing her wish to be like her mother. "You lack the will, the determination to succeed. Pitiful. A Hyuuga cannot be a _doormat_ ; there is a difference between peacefully letting others go by, and knowingly letting others walk all over you. No Hyuuga, especially not the heiress, should ever be the latter. No _ninja_ should ever be the latter."

She never could find her 'drive'.

Cousin Neji is no help; he shrugs and tells her that she must find her 'drive' herself, or else it isn't really _hers_.

Since he's nice and plays with her a lot, Hinata believes him.

Plus, her mother agreed with Cousin Neji, after Hinata repeated his words, and Hinata trusts her mother more than anyone else she knows.

(She doesn't ask Uncle Hizashi or Tou-sama for help. She daren't. Uncle Hizashi seems to hate her for some reason. He always glares at her when he passes, and he thinks no one else is looking. Tou-sama… Tou-sama is why she's trying to find a 'drive' in the first place.)

Until she turns three.

Her third birthday party is a small occurrence, of slight importance, but not too much.

It is, however, her first birthday that is celebrated with other, non-Hyuuga members being invited.

All highly political, naturally. Hinata tries not to let that bother her too much, instead focusing on having as much fun as she can.

The party moves to the Konoha park, to entertain the children, and she rarely gets to exit the Compound, so that's exciting.

Plus, there are all these new people she's never met before, all clan heirs/heiresses near her age [hence the politics].

They look strange, and act completely unlike the coldly impersonal Hyuuga members she usually interacts with, which fascinates her… but her shyness gets the best of her and she barely talks to them, simply stuttering through necessities and then hiding nervously behind trees.

(There's a disinterested Nara who barely glances at her, a loud Yamanaka who is too forceful for her, a placating Akimichi who uncertainly greets her, a scruffy Inuzuka who grins toothily to her, a snooty Uchiha who glares and sulks and ignores everyone plus her, and a silent Aburame who nods cordially for her.

The Kurama heiress couldn't make it.)

(Near the end of the party, Hinata spots a blond boy hovering around the fringes, biting his lip in anxiety, also hiding behind a tree. She feels a surge of sympathy, and contemplates mustering up the courage to approach him, but the party ends before she can, and the blond boy immediately darts off, as if fearing being sighted.)

Nonetheless, she loves it, and comes home with a brightness in her eyes, and her mind stuffed with new memories.

Her presents are nice, too. Some clothes, some ornaments, some books, a plant (from the loud Yamanaka; Hinata makes a note to thank her extra nicely for the flower, since it's her favorite breed of orchid). More variety than the last two years, anyway.

(Kaa-san pats her own belly and whispers that Hinata's going to be a nee-chan soon, Tou-sama grunts in a mildly positive manner and kinda-sorta-actually-slightly _smiles_ at her.

Those two are her favorite presents.)

She goes to sleep happier than she's been for a long time.

And wakes up more fearful than she's been for… well, for the entirety of her three years of existence so far.

She's tied up, gagged, probably drugged, and is slung most uncomfortably in a rough cloth bag over someone's bony shoulder that keeps jabbing into her back.

Realizing that she's been kidnapped, and that the only reason she's awake is because, judging by the throb on her forehead, the kidnappers must've been careless and jolted her on the side of a door, is enough to scare the rest of the sleeping drugs out of circulation with an instinctive chakra-boost through her blood.

Remembering what happens to kidnapped Hyuugas, and that her existence may very well _end_ at three years, like, _end_ as in _end permanently_ _ **oh my**_ _**kami I**_ _**don't wanna die**_ , is enough to send desperation and adrenaline pumping through her system, further cleansing out the drugs' effect.

She really regrets not dedicating herself further in her self-defense studies.

But hey, if she survives this, she tells herself hysterically, at least she can definitely say that she's found her 'drive', right?

In her hyper-aware, hyper-terrified state, Hinata can hear the crunching of gravel underfoot, and it dawns on her, with a rush of cold sweat, that that means her kidnappers are rapidly nearing the exit of the Hyuuga Compound.

Her drive?

 _ **I don't want to die.**_

A burst of chakra explodes from her bound fists, the instinctive action of a barely trained child, burning off the gag on her mouth.

She's only got one shot at this, already the kidnappers have felt the uncontrolled chakra burst, so Hinata gasps in a breath and _screams_ , with all her energy, with all her vocal-cords-being-unconsciously-boosted-with-chakra _drive_.

It's wordless and ear-shattering and sounds just like a terrified girl screaming desperately for help and all Hinata can think is that she _really freakin' hopes it works_ , because then she passes out from accidental chakra exhaustion, and the last thing she hears is a footstep.

A single footstep.

.

When she's alive to the world again, Hinata is warm, and snugly wrapped in covers upon covers.

Her mother is hugging her and rocking her and crying hot burning-acid tears into her short, shiny blue-black hair.

"I was _so worried_ about you, Hina-chan," she murmured, over and over.

"We need to ramp up security, of course, especially with little Hana-chan on the way," she continued.

Hinata seizes the chance to change topics, and peers at her mother, parroting, "Hana-chan?"

"Oh, well, your father is convinced that your sibling will be a boy, but I'm sure they'll be a girl. Call it mother's instinct, if you will. So we made a, ah, deal of sorts. If they're a boy, he'll be named Hikaru. Hyuuga Hikaru. Hina-chan and Hika-kun. If they're a girl, she'll be named Hanabi. Hyuuga Hanabi. Hina-chan and Hana-chan. Ah, I can see her now… the two of you, smiling together. Adorable~. You two will adore each other, no doubt about it."

Unfortunately, her mother isn't so easily deterred.

Calmed down, she gently guides Hinata's pale hands into her own long and slender ones.

"Are you feeling okay? Yesterday must have been very scary for you. You were very brave, you know, and if you hadn't managed to yell… well, let's not go there. Nearly gave your poor mother a heart attack, you did. But don't forget that none of that was your fault, and that you are a very special child, okay? Kaa-san is very proud of you. Is there anything you need? You'd like to have? To make you more comfortable? The medics said you should take a few days off of training, to ease you out of any shock."

She is genuinely concerned for her, and it warms Hinata more than the covers could.

But Hinata feels the chill of last night's events, feels her resolve grow, and saddens slightly.

Hinata… Hinata can't be her mother.

Hinata can't be strong and gentle.

Hinata can't settle for just being gentle, though.

What if the kidnappers come again?

What if… they target someone else?

 _What if they target her little sibling!?_

Her current gentleness is properly horrified at the thought of people getting hurt because of her. Getting _killed_ because of her.

Her newfound wisps-of-strength decide that, well then, she'll have to become strong. Much, much stronger than her… than her _weak_ 'before'. As strong as… as… as Tou-sama.

Because Tou-sama was the one to save her.

Because then, when she was that strong, no one would need to save her, to worry about her, to get hurt for her.

Because if she struck first and struck strong, they couldn't hurt her, hurt those she cared for, hurt those she maybe didn't necessarily care for or know about but who were still her obligation as a kunoichi of the Leaf as a Hyuuga as a Hyuuga _heiress._

(And then maybe just maybe she could possibly kinda sort pick up a little gentleness later? Later when she's strong as strong as she needs to be stronger than she is now strong strong strong…)

Hinata closes her eyes and breathes, taking away her hands to fist them in her layers.

'I can't stay like this, Kaa-san. To be strong… I'll need to, at the very least, at the very _first_ , get Tou-sama to see me as his heiress. I _need to be_ the Hyuuga heiress. There are responsibilities and _duties_ and the Hyuugas will be my obligation, under my care… but to earn that right, I'll have to _get stronger_. I hope you're still proud of me at the end, Kaa-san. I don't know if I'd be proud at the end. _I won't know until I get to the end, though._ '

"Kaa-san?" Hinata asks.

"Yes, Hina-chan?" she looks at her, eyes still wide in that genuine concern of hers.

Hinata doesn't open her eyes.

"Please inform Tou-sama that I will not be taking a break from training, and please inform him that I have found my 'drive' that the instructors say I lacked. Please inform him that, from now on, _I need to get stronger_."

(She doesn't open her eyes because she doesn't want to see if her mother's concern changes.)

* * *

 ** _ **#**_**

 **Note that this is largely unedited, definitely un-beta'd, and written randomly while I put off updating 'Replacement'.**

 **#**

 **~Please Review.~**


	2. Morning

**Summary:**

 _In one world, Hinata is a little less kind, a little more desperate, and a whole lot colder. And, well, the Byakugan **is** the most perceptive doujutsu. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [ Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **.**

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given a more character development and realistic reasoning for Epilogue!SasuSaku. Because, seriously? Just… no explanation whatsoever for that one. None. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(state of matters and stated manners)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

It is quiet in the Hyuuga Compound, this early in the morning.

Nonetheless, when Hyuuga Hinata awakens in her bed, there is a Branch member outside her bedroom door, knocking.

"Yes?" she asks, opening her eyes, but not bothering to activate her Byakugan to check who it is.

(The bedroom walls of the Hyuuga Compound are, naturally, all Byakugan-proofed, with top-secret Main House seals. Other rooms requiring privacy, such as meeting rooms, are also sealed similarly.)

A feminine voice answers, stiffly, accompanied with the slight rustle of clothing being creased into a bow, "Breakfast will be served in half-an-hour, Hinata-sama."

She doesn't nod, because the Branch member wouldn't be able to see it, anyway. A simple, "Dismissed," will do just as well.

Another rustle, another bow, and the maid departs, a fleeting shadow across her bedroom door.

Shōji-style traditional walls, with the paper enclosed inside sliding glass doors.

There is nothing to be gained from lying in her bed any longer, so Hinata sits up and stands.

After perfectly arranging the futon covers, since the Hyuuga heiress cannot do anything less than perfectly, lest she chance bringing shame upon the Hyuuga name, she dresses herself for the day and enters the bathroom.

Her clothes, she supposes, are adequate for their purpose of presentable, practical apparel for a kunoichi-in-training unlikely to get into any dangerous situations.

Reaching down past her waist is a light-weight, neutral cream, long-sleeved jacket, marked with a prominent white Hyuuga Clan symbol on the back, and adorned with four visible pockets (several more concealed elsewhere).

Sleeves are folded, rimmed with white, and pushed back to her elbows. Her high-collar loosely tilts outward; not quite a fold, not quite tight around her neck.

A certain loop in the inside of the collar can snugly fit a senbon needle, reachable with a duck of the head and a bite-jerk of the teeth.

Using weapons are forbidden in Academy spars, and Hyuuga tradition mandates that Hyuuga members shall stick to their special taijutsu as much as possible, but Hinata is far more concerned with functionality than she is with humoring the people calling themselves her family.

If a hidden, surprise senbon shot can save her life, then she is going to make sure she has that surprise senbon shot to use when the time comes, and that she will have the skills necessary to fire that accurate shot.

(Sadly, to fulfil her goal, her goals, she is going to have to continue humoring those same people. At least for now. Because she had made a vow to herself, that cold morning as she woke up from a near-kidnapping, and she intends to keep that vow.

To be _strong_.

And that means she has to push herself, to excel beyond her limits, to never lose to Hanabi no matter how deep her affection for her may be or how similar she looks like their mother, to keep Neji on his toes _just within her grasp_ **just a little more** _**and-!**_

She _has_ to be heiress. There is no other way. No other way viable that she sees, anyway.

… Yes, Hinata is _far_ more concerned with functionalities than tradition.

Although, when tradition happens to work in her favor, to achieve further clan approval…)

Wearing cream is a Hyuuga tradition to show that you've reached Genin-level in Byakugan proficiency, and to wear otherwise would signify subtle rebellion against the Jyuuken users.

Garment length is another common factor: Jonin-level, or former Jonin-level Hyuugas, all wear sober, dark-shaded long robes/kimonos, often with sleeves that drape over their fingers when measured.

Hair length is a sign of how far you have proceeded in your Jyuuken proficiency, although that is more sensibility and widespread understanding; long hair is a status symbol of sorts among ninja, declaring that they are either very vain, or they are a strong genjutsu or taijutsu type, and can thus afford to have hair weighing them down and acting as a 'taunt'.

'Pull my hair and find out what happens,' it suggests. 'Actually, just try getting near enough to pull my hair, and find out if I can truly kill you faster than you can reach for my hair.'

(Not so say that Hyuugas aren't incredibly vain, as well. They make many of their own perfumes, make-up, scents, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, facial cleansers, soaps, toothpastes, etc.. She knows that Cousin Neji favors a soothing Minty Berry Sunrise combo, whereas her father orders Flaxen Pumpkinspice Holiday shampoo and Cleansing Waterfall Ripple conditioner, her little sister goes through about a bottle of Chocolate-Covered Mango-Pear Delight 2-In-One per week, and she herself rather enjoyed using Guava-spiked Fizzy Dragonfruit shampoo, with Watermelon Hazelnut Plum-Peach conditioner.

And the whole family uses Cinnamon Brown Sugar body scrub, Rosebush Lilypetal Bouquet bubblebath, and Roasted Coffee Shea Butter Rub, of course.

The Hyuuga run a tight ship, and nothing feels better after a grueling training session than 'pampering time' in their many, many, luxuriously-fitted in-ground granite-tile full-body baths.

… Wearing scented hair washes in and of itself is another 'taunt', or, at worst, a dead giveaway for scent-trackers.)

It says something about 'confidence' that Hinata's been wearing cream since she swapped her white-on-lavender jacket in Year 4, and that Hinata has been growing out her hair since Year 5, reaching shoulder-length at Year 6. Before, it was kept trimmed in a half-neck bob.

Though, as her _dear, darling_ _father_ never tires of reminding her, _Neji_ started wearing cream in his Year 3 class, and his hair has been shoulder-length since Year 5.

Standard mesh went over secure chest bindings, and under a flexible, breathable, white short-sleeve shirt that is easily glimpsed through the opened jacket. Bandages bind the naked skin from her elbows to her wrists.

The shirt can be pulled over one's lower face to provide basic air filtration, in case of smoke, poisons, or otherwise.

Extra support for blocking attacks is provided by the bandages.

Dark blue-black ¾ ninja pants and half-calf ninja boots of the same shade finish off her outfit, with more bandages wrapping her ankles and feet.

Long, repetitive hours of solo training wears out shoes and hurts feet, so Hinata typically goes shoeless and bandaged.

The scuff marks in the training grounds' floor are signs of her countless stances and katas and practice strikes that she goes through daily.

Barefoot still aches, however, so the bandages are applied after bathing and ointment cream, and serve a dual purpose of protection and relief.

.

.

.

Hinata, satisfied with her appearance, brushes her teeth and washes her face.

She combs her shoulder-length hair, smooths her forehead-covering bangs, and tucks her side-bangs behind her ears, clipping them back with simple black hairpins, preventing them from possibly falling in front of her face and obscuring her vision.

Well, it's not so much preventing blocked vision as it is preventing loss of reputation.

Because dear _kami-sama_ , the day she loses in an Academy spar, Byakugan-banned or blind, is the day that the eternally brooding Uchiha stops glowering and chasing revenge and suddenly declares his undying, passionate love for one of the screeching civilian harpies who are only in the Academy for their 'Sasuke-kun'.

She allows herself a sharp smirk for that mental image, before clearing her features into impassivity.

One last check in the bathroom, straighten her spine, reminder 'perfect _posture_ perfect _look_ perfect _powerful_ **pride** perfect _**Hyuuga**_ ', and Hinata is gracefully gliding out of her bathroom, down the halls, reminder 'nod to the Branch members greet the Main members posture _pride_ **heiress** '...

Sliding open the shōji-style door, Hinata enters the private dining room typically allotted to them, removes her shoes, sits seiza very correctly in her usual tatami seat (middle of the table opposite her father farthest from the door 'honored guest' heiress _heiress_ **heiress** ), and then sinks into a low bow.

It seems she has arrived last.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Otou-sama, Neji-san, Imouto-chan," she murmurs respectfully.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Hinata," Hiashi rumbles back, dipping his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Onee-san!" Hanabi chirps, remembering at the last minute to tone down her cheer.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Hinata-sama," Neji agrees blandly, his tensed jaw (a surprisingly emotional display from her reserved cousin, albeit one that appeared every time he spoke to her) giving away his resentment.

There is not much talk after that.

Hyuuga Hiashi disapproves of idle chatter at mealtimes, unless he is the one speaking, in which case it is either an announcement, a punishment, or an interrogation.

Never, seemingly, a celebration.

They say "itadakimasu", and then eat quietly of the food the Branch members have laid out, the silence disrupted only by the clinking of chopsticks against the bowls.

.

.

.

Hinata can see Hanabi at her left, restraining an itch.

Hanabi is too young to have completely mastered her composure, and lacks any real drive to strive for masterment, seeing as she is not heiress.

Indeed, carefree, oddly cheerful Hanabi is seen as a strange Hyuuga, but is predicted to calm down upon making Genin. She enjoys seeking out her 'Onee-san' to spend time with; Hinata does not mind the time detracted from training, reasoning that burning out will do her no good.

Privately, Hinata is glad her sister is happy, and has no need to become cold and hard like their father demands. Like she has become. Otou-sama mostly focuses on her, anyway, prodding about his heiress' progress, and rarely seeming satisfied.

They have a sort of unspoken agreement: Hinata doesn't fail his expectations, and he will remain civil and mostly ignore Hanabi's outspoken trespasses.

Occasionally, he is even downright lenient to his youngest child, favoring her with little gestures and small smiles.

(Hinata is both stung by biting jealousy and glad for Hanabi, who will never see the worst parts of her father.

She is confused as to why she is feeling the jealousy.

She hates him.

Hates him.

Yes, she does, because if she second-guesses at this point… she just can't. Not after all that she went through to get where she is today, to get this strong.)

Just as well.

Hinata may despise that man as strongly as she once loved her mother, but he is useful to her, so long as she keeps herself useful to him.

Him demanding her to constantly improve herself gives her something _solid_ to strive for on her path to completing her vow.

At her right is Neji, stiffly eating his food, head down and refusing to look at them. He stabs his chopsticks and grits his teeth and appears to be clenched with tension.

Gone is the kind Cousin Neji from before, Hinata must remind herself.

 _This_ Neji is far more bent on _fate_ and _destiny_ and somehow proving himself to be far superior to Hinata, merely because of that quirk of fate leading _her_ to be heiress and _his_ father to be killed.

Secretly, if _he_ had always been heir, and _her_ father had been killed, Hinata does not believe that she will mind all too much.

She may even enjoy it.

Because if Neji blames her for things beyond her control, then it is only fair that she is allowed to envy and begrudge _him_ for things beyond _his_ control.

Uncle Hizashi loved Neji, she recalls this fact in vivid affirmation.

And that is one thing she can never, _will_ never forgive him for:

 _For having a father who loved him, while she had a father didn't._

Yet Neji still had the audacity to hold that against her?

Yes, she will never forgive him for that, but now, it is just a _little_ sad at how things have turned out.

Her own cousin, who was once like a brother to her, now cannot even bear to willingly be in the same room with her, or willingly interact with her past the minimum pleasantness he must show her.

Does he _really think_ she might use the Cursed Seal on him?

Has he such a low opinion of her?

… Well, in _her_ opinion, _he_ turned on _her_ first.

(Another thing she will not forgive. It would be almost funny to see how fast those unforgiveables add up when concerning Neji, except for the fact that it.

Isn't.

Funny.

At _all_.)

Neji clearly dislikes having to eat meals with them, despite how much of an honor it should be, if he had been any other Branch House member.

But he does, and it isn't to him, and he wasn't.

So why does her father insist on him being there, anyway?

Because he was one of the Hyuuga prodigies, even if he was a Branch member?

Out of a sense of duty to his deceased brother to look over his son?

Well, Neji won't be thanking him for that anytime soon.

Hanabi once told her, indignantly, and puffed up with righteous fury, "Neji's a meanie for being so mad at Nee-chan all the time! Nee-chan never did anything to him!"

She had replied, smiling, "Neji-san has his reasons, and I am certain he will eventually tell us what they are."

(Smiling at her imouto's childish speech. _Not_ smiling at the _topic_. Or the topic's subject.

There's nothing to smile at with those.)

Hinata finishes her breakfast, returns her dishes to their former positions, replaces her chopsticks, and dabs at her lips politely with a napkin.

Bowing forward once more, she utters a "gochisōsama deshita," and awaits the ensuing dismissal.

.

.

.

It doesn't come.

Ah.

Her father must be in the mood for inquiries, then.

She raises her head, now awaiting the statement-questions.

"Today is your graduation test."

She inclines her head.

"Hai, Otou-sama. The entire class will be participating in it today."

Monotonous.

"You will succeed."

Another incline.

"Hai, Otou-sama. I am confident in my abilities, and will show the superiority of the Hyuugas."

Those words are rotting in her mouth, but she forces them out anyway.

"Hm. You will be Rookie of the Year, and show that Uchiha who is truly better."

"Hai, Otou-sama. If that is your wish, then I will do my utmost to reach it."

He sounds like the Uchiha, she mentally remarks. And has he forgotten that I regularly spar with that same Uchiha?

"As agreed upon earlier, since it is your testing day, Hanabi will not accompany you to the Academy. When you graduate, she is allowed to enter your classroom, in order to familiarize herself with the squad-grouping process."

.

.

.

Children start at the Academy when they turn 5, unless there are special circumstances, such as health concerns, that rule against it.

(The Kurama heiress is home-schooled, for that very reason.)

Her imouto is in the Academy right now, at age 7 and Year 2.

The younger Years start class later than the older Years; Hinata is in Year 7, meaning that her classes begin at 7:00 a.m., while Hanabi's classes begin at 8:45 a.m.

(As it is not war-time, and there is no need for so many soldiers, advanced placement and early graduation and grade-skipping are frozen, by the Hokage's orders.

No more child genii for this generation; not even the Hyuuga heiress, not even the much-doted and heavily-coddled Uchiha.)

Nonetheless, Hanabi idolizes her sister, and often insists on going to school with her, ever since Hanabi was old enough to join.

Hanabi's favorite topic is Hinata, actually; on her first day of school, when asked to introduce herself and her family, her speech went something like this, except with much more Hyuuga stoicism, and with the more clan-sensitive material solely existing in her head, having been edited out verbally:

 _"I'm Hyuuga Hanabi. I like my Nee-chan, fireworks, bananas, milk, training, my father when he's being nice, and Cousin Neji when he's not being mean. I dislike mitsuba, Cousin Neji when he badmouths Nee-chan, not being with Nee-chan, getting wet, and slacking off._

 _"My hobbies are spending time with my Nee-chan and training with a Branch member. Father mostly trains my Nee-han, who's the heiress, and is totally awesome and way better than everyone else around her age. Especially Cousin Neji, who always glares a lot and makes hissing noises when he's super angry and is always such a downer at mealtimes._

 _"Grandfather once told me that everyone is linked to an unchangeable fate, and that I would always be a useless spare and destined to either get sealed or be kept as a security check in case Nee-chan dies without leaving children so as to prevent the Main House line from dying out, but then Nee-chan came in with this really flat line in her lips and said, 'No, that's not true. Weak can be strong, if they find their drive and are determined to succeed. I admit, I was weak when I was young. You said so, Otou-sama said so, and it's true, I was. Because I lacked drive. Now I have found my drive, and I have been careful never to lose it. Will you say that your heiress is not strong?'_

 _"He looked really s-can-dah-lie-zud, and his lisp got all thin and pressed together, but he didn't say anything else, and stormed off looking really mad! (insert dreamy sigh) So. Freaking. Awesome. I want to be just like her!"_ is the rambling mental version.

 _"I am Hyuuga Hanabi. I like my family, my older sister in particular, training, and bananas and milk. I dislike mitsuba, being underestimated, and rainy days. My hobby is training with my sister. My dream is to one day fulfill my family's expectations, and receive their approval,"_ is the actual, Hyuuga-esque version.

.

.

.

She waves (hugs, if Hinata is in an affectionate mood) goodbye to her sister, and then practices some stances in the Academy training grounds, supervised by the Branch member escorts, until it's time for her Year 2 classes.

(Hinata hates Hiashi, yes, but referencing that 'agreement' about Hanabi…

They make frequent 'deals', like the 'school deal'. In that case, Hinata had went to her father two weeks ago, and requested permission to bring Hanabi into her classroom on graduation day, since Hanabi had professed many longing wishes to do so, and Hinata is fond of making Hanabi happy.

Her father had stated, "She will not go with you on testing day. I will use that time to review her Jyuuken prowess. If she is satisfactory, I speak to the School Board regarding your request."

There is never any doubt as to whether she will pass.

There is never any doubt as to whether it will be allowed.

He acknowledges Hinata as a strong heiress.

He practically owns the School Board.

Hinata bows to him, and leaves his office.)

Snapping back to reality, Hinata hurries to reply without seeming hurried, "Hai, Otou-sama. Your generosity is gratefully appreciated."

Hiashi nods regally.

"You are released to depart, Hinata."

Hinata rises in one smooth motion, and collects her shoes.

"Good luck, Nee-chan!" Hanabi calls to her, as she crosses the threshold.

Neji is noticeably silent, his quietness an audible sound in and of itself.

Hinata doesn't look back, but she does say, "Thank you, Imouto-chan," loud enough that Hanabi can hear it.

The girl most likely beams brightly, and will also most likely get another lecture on proper decorum, on 'Onee-san' vs 'Nee-chan' and 'expected behavior befitting a Hyuuga.'

Flanked by three dutiful Branch members, Hinata leaves the Compound, carrying a backpack packed lightly with two sets of kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, a few pens, three notebooks, her food (bento, snacks, water bottles), a book on chakra control exercises, all her textbooks, and a well-stocked equipment maintenance kit.

(To send off the Hyuuga heiress with anything other than an _entourage_ would be a slight.

In her case, sending three Branch members is both an entourage, as well as an indicator of her skill.

'See? Our heiress is so strong, she needs only three members to accompany her.'

If Hiashi had sent her off with no bodyguards, or had only sent her Branch member cousin, Neji, to pick her up from school, it would have been as good as a dismissal.

'We do not care about our heiress enough to bother sending anyone but her young, inexperienced relation. She is not worthy of being our heiress.'

But he didn't.

Not in this world.)

She does not allow her guards to carry her load for her; it shows respect for the Branch members if she does it herself.

It's also good strength training, she reminds herself.

(Hinata still doesn't look back.)

They walk down the streets of Konoha, and everyone clears a path, fearful of the might of the Noble Hyuuga Clan, fearful of their much-acclaimed heiress with her blankly cold eyes.

* * *

 _ **#**_

 _ **#**_

 _ **#**_

 _ **- Edited 10/24/15 -**_

 _ **Hanabi's wiki page says she used to adore Hinata and follow her around, but after Hinata lost to her in the heiress battle, Hanabi grew to doubt her sister's strength, and her admiration faltered.**_

 _ **Then her grandfather told her about the 'destiny' thing, and she started thinking that Hinata was weak to have lost to someone five years younger, and Hanabi fully embraced her role as the Hyuuga heiress, growing distant and scornful of Hinata.**_

 _ **Here, Hinata never lost to Hanabi; in fact, the battle was never held. So Hanabi continues to adore Hinata, much like a pre-Massacre Sasuke idolized his brother.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **If Hinata's motivations seem to change, or if she acts apart from what she claims is her main motive, that's because nothing's ever really that easy.**_

 _ **People are complicated; they lie to themselves, they believe their own lies.**_

 _ **She wants to be strong, yes, but her original reason for wanting to be strong was to be strong enough to defend herself, so she wouldn't ever be caught off guard and at the mercy of someone else again.**_

 _ **Sure, she might also add that she wants to protect her precious ones and make sure no one gets hurt because of her being weak, but people are intrinsically selfish, and Hinata is truly afraid of dying helpless, unfulfilled.**_

 _ **Fulfill what, she doesn't know, but that's what life's for: to figure out your purpose.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **She says she hates her father... and Hiashi knows that she feels like that.**_

 _ **But he's still her father, and she feels genuinely happy whenever he or the caln praises or acknowledges her, and that makes her struggle internally, because on one hand she wants to be heiress for an entirely selfish reason, and on the other hand, she finds herself slowly wanting to become heiress in order to please her father and her clan.**_

 _ **Hinata's core traits are still there... just buried deep, deep down, and repressed with tons of denial stemming from her childhood.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Remember, these are drabbles that are NOT set in chronological order. All over the place, really. And if you're actually reading this rant/explanation, please type 'gooseberry' in a review. Even if it's just that one word. I'm kinda curious, actually...**_

 _ **If the constant parentheses and brackets-inside-parentheses were confusing and annoying, I apologize.**_

 _ **But you may as well quit reading now, then, since future updates will follow the same format, albeit probably neater and more streamlined, as there are many things needing explaining in this universe, and people's thoughts tend to wander, so you're essentially tracking how Hinata thinks.**_

 _ **#**_

 _ **-Please Review.-**_


	3. Grudge

**Summary:**

 _In one world, Hinata is a little less kind, a little more desperate, and a whole lot colder. And, well, the Byakugan_ _ **is**_ _the most perceptive doujutsu. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [_ _Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles_ _]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given a more character development and realistic reasoning for Epilogue!SasuSaku. Because, seriously? Just… no explanation whatsoever for that one. None. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 ** **.****

 ** **(burning and catching to drag them all down)****

 ** **.****

 ** **[Age 8]****

There is hatred in the Uchiha's soul now, rooted deep, this much is beyond clear to Hinata, from the first day she walks into class after the unimaginatively coined 'Uchiha Massacre' occurred.

(It really actually happened three days ago, since it happened last Friday, Saturday and Sunday are non-school days, and Monday was declared an 'emergency closing', since they were still cleaning up the Uchiha compound and investigating possible witnesses.)

She cannot fathom why the screeching weakling civilians do not see that hatred as well.

They find his darkly bitter eyes to be 'onyx, obsidian, pitch-black, smoldering coals', and find him to be 'so cute/hot/sexy/attractive/bad boy' when he sits in his seat and broods intensely by the window, occasionally snarling or growling under his breath.

(Although that could be because he's annoyed by the sudden surge in fangirls disrupting his angsty, self-pitying, woe-is-me mourning.

Living in the past isn't healthy.

Look at Neji, she thinks.

Then she actually thinks about it, and the prospect of an Uchiha 'Neji' is so horrifying that she's tempted to shake the Uchiha and scream at him with wild eyes to promise to never become like Neji, because one of them is depressing and tense enough.

Instead, she twitches her left finger very carefully, and works hard on steadying her breathing with some calming meditation exercises she has memorized by heart and by body.

'Breathe in, breathe out, cast out your chakra as far as you can and sink _down_ into it.'

Her chakra brushes briefly against the Uchiha's, and Hinata rapidly withdraws all of her chakra, twitching her left finger again.

Fire, soured, scorched, vengeance, and his former a-little-past-toasty-warm childish light.

All that in 3 days…?

She recalls her own sudden turn-around after her discovery of her 'drive', finally feeling a bit of understanding, even if she still mainly feels that he's being unreasonable.

If someone had killed _Hanabi_ …

If… If _Neji_ had killed _Hanabi_...

Hinata stills her body, breathing in and out methodically.

Well, then.

That's why she needs strength.

[That afternoon, when sparring with Neji, if Hiashi notices how _focused_ she is on beating Neji, and how she looks positively _vicious_ for a split second after being narrowly defeated, he doesn't comment.

Neji is breathing much heavier than usual, which means Hinata is that much closer to victory against him, which means his heiress is that much more spurred on.])

Isn't it obvious that the Uchiha bears a hunger, a red-hot anger, a focused desire for revenge?

Her own eyes have been called 'cold' and 'deadly' before. The Byakugan is a formidable tool.

His eyes have been called 'cold' and 'deadly' as well, which she disagrees with.

True, the Sharingan is also a formidable tool, but the Uchiha doesn't have coldness inside him.

He has _hate_ , a fiery heated _hate_ , the furious will that says, 'I will melt anything in my way, turn the things I touch to cinders, destruction blazing in my wake.'

He's willing to _burn_ for his 'revenge', and he has no quibbles about latching onto others and dragging them down to-

 _Burn._

 _With._

 _Him_.

(That's self-destructive, others-destructive behavior, right there and then.

… Why hasn't he been dragged in for therapy yet?

Well, seeing as he's the only Uchiha in Konoha, he's technically his own guardian…

And Hinata can easily see the Uchiha as being someone who would view 'therapy' a waste of hs potential-training time.

The villagers would immediately protest at pushing the Uchiha to do anything, too. With the civilians firmly on 'his side', the Uchiha could probably get away with a lot. With many of the ninja at least partially sympathetic to his history, the Uchiha could probably get away with downright [unwarranted and unpaid] murder so long as he plays his cards right.

But he's not the type to have enough patience and finesse for doing that. His stubborn kiddish 'pride' prevents him from asking help. That's what happens with grown-up goals and unmatured minds. [And unmatured brains sending illogical signals and, in the future, oh horror of horrors, _hormones_. Uchiha's have reportedly always been 'late bloomers', however…]

Though he does have potential, if he would only _ask_ then you never know who would deign to _oblige_ and maybe just maybe-

… Eh.

Not her problem.

Or so she tells herself, over and over.

Does it work?

Does she _really_ believe that?

Well, _she_ chooses to believe that she believes that, and she believes that that belief is enough for her.)

Dramatic, maybe. Doesn't make it any less true.

Besides, the Uchiha have always had a tendency for dramatics, what with their natural Fire Affinity and ability to keep up serious grudges.

(Hinata admits that the Hyuuga have a tendency for dramatics and grudges as well. She can be gracious in admitting her faults, her shortcomings. Strength isn't gained by glossing over weaknesses; meticulous in her planning, Hinata seeks to compromise and resolve them instead.

Neji seems to think differently.

His petty grudge has certainly grown tremendously over the years.

Building, building…

One day he is going to confront her, and she will have to rise to his challenge.

It won't be easy, she knows.

She can only bide her time until then, though, and prepare as best as she is able.

Yes, Hinata can be gracious in admitting her flaws, and Hinata is meticulous in her planning.

With those two tools under her belt, even if it won't be easy, she is at least assured in being able to rise to his challenge.

But she wonders what his tipping point will be…)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _~Please Review.~_**


	4. Cloud

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different?_ _[AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [_ _Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles_ _]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given a more character development and realistic reasoning for Epilogue!SasuSaku. Because, seriously? Just… no explanation whatsoever for that one. None. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(sun and moon and sometimes cloud)**

 **[Age 12]**

"So. Introductions. Whoo. Yay. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, one fun fact, and goal for the future. Shoot," the strange gray-haired Jounin says, sounding completely unenthused, perched on the rooftop railing, his flak jacket worn from years of experience.

Sakura doesn't know what to think of him.

He's apparently their Jounin-sensei.

( _'A receptionist on the night shift would sound more enthusiastic than him,'_ she compares.)

Sasuke is silent ( _so stoic and cool~_ , some squashed-down part of her squeals) at her left, eyeing the masked man with an expression she identifies from her kunoichi classes as mixed neutrality and appreciation, clothed in a opened black vest, a large-collared dark blue loose long-sleeve, hitai-ate presumably hidden around his neck, two weaponry pouches on each side, and half-calf black many-pocketed pants, padded dark blue ninja-sandals finishing it off.

 _So, they have a strong Jounin-sensei, because Sasuke only ever appreciates strength._

Naruto is quietly humming something at her right, cross-legged and sunny, staring up at the sky with a light smile upturning his lips, seemingly content to let the silence stretch on, wearing a black jacket with dozens of pockets, a pale orange shirt, hitai-ate proudly slung around his right shoulder, two same-colored pouches tied to either leg, and black ninja-pants, bandages securing their hem at above his ankles, black slipper-like shoes on his bare feet.

It's rather shocking to notice how _peaceful_ he is; the few times Sakura remembers really interacting with him in their very early Academy days, he'd been hyperactive and way too loud and overwhelmingly _crude_ and _childish_ and _orange_ , yelling something every five minutes or so, mostly proposals to take her out on a date, proposals that had been dealt with rather violently.

Since when did he calm down so much between then and now?

(They both look so prepared, easily outclassing her light green no-sleeve turtleneck tunic and black leggings, ninja-mesh encircling her arms until they ended at her wrists, simple dark green sneakers on her feet, hitai-ate tying back her bangs and shoulder-length bob, a thin braided flat-rope around her waist as a belt, her mint-green pouches attached to the cord.

She's struck with a sudden surge of gladness that Ino-pig had helped her pick out this Genin outfit, put together from problems she's seen in the hospital and is determined to avoid.

Who _knows_ how silly she would have felt in vivid red while they were all in darker colors, even Naruto in mostly-black.)

Nobody is talking, and she's shifting uncomfortably with the lack of direction, so she volunteers to go first, desperate to break the unnerving hush.

"A-Ano, I'm Haruno Sakura! I like-"

She reminds herself just in time to control her blush and to _use her words_ , because Sasuke-kun likes strong, medium-haired, aloof, confident girls, and stammering noiselessly while staring at him would definitely give a bad impression.

(Isn't that what Ino-pig said he liked, years ago? Sakura never asked where Ino-pig had heard that from, but, well, _someone_ was bound to have heard him say that, right? Rumors don't come from nowhere. … right?

Well, she knew for sure that Sasuke-kun didn't like fangirls; he'd made that very clear two years ago.)

 _Breathe, Sakura, come on now, breathe and give him space._

It still takes some concentration to think of what she likes other than Sasuke-kun, which briefly panics her, because surely she has a life of her own, too.

"-umeboshi-"

 _Don't focus too much on food, don't want Sasuke-kun thinking you're not a good kunoichi._

"-practicing my control, volunteering at the hospital, learning about poisons-"

 _Good, good, something to show I'm dedicated._

"-and… history."

 _Does that make me sound boring? Or smart? Ahhh this is so stressful and it doesn't help that Naruto's watching and Sensei's watching and ohmykami Sasuke-kun is paying attention too! He's paying attention this must be working! It's like what Ino-pig said about playing 'hard-to-get'!_

Sakura licks her dry lips nervously under the scrutiny of her team, mentally noting to invest in a good tube of chapstick soon, preferably something clear; gotta look like a professional now, or Sasuke-kun won't take her seriously.

 _Would Ino-pig be up for some shopping tonight? The books say scentless toiletries are a must for ninja, because trackers can use smell, and all of my stuff has some sort of fragrance. Kaa-san just keeps buying me them, and it makes me feel guilty if I don't use them, but that was okay since it was the Academy. Now we're Genin, though…_

 _ **Go for it! But wait, look alert, you were getting lost in thought, and staring off into space will definitely not help you make the right impression.**_

('Inner' doesn't speak up much. When she does speak, however, it's usually good advice, and Sakura tries her best to listen.)

Her teammates look vaguely surprised, and her Jounin-sensei is unsimilingly impassive.

He gestures for her to go on.

"I… don't like…" she draws out her words, long and slow, brooding over them carefully.

"… spicy things. Or losing to Ino-"

She almost says 'Ino-pig', but that's childish and immature and they'd made a sort-of-truce that's lasted two years so far, and that she intends to keep.

 _Can't let her show me up without even trying by calling me 'Sakura' in public and not 'Forehead-girl' while I call her 'Ino-pig'._

"-and losing in general. I also don't like it when it's windy and knocks senbon off-course and makes it miss because the lighter weapons need better precision and… yeah," she ends lamely, scuffing her ninja-sandals awkwardly on the stone steps.

 _Great going, Sakura. Rambling makes you seem too focused on that one topic. Do you_ _ **want**_ _to be known as 'Senbon-girl'?_

Sucking in another breath, she plunges forward in her agonizingly long monologue, determined not to overthink it, and to steadfastly avoid any mention of her crush.

 _At least Sasuke-kun doesn't look bored?_

"My hobbies are playing trivia games, memorizing anatomy, and taking care of my weapons and poisons. One fun fact about me is that I have perfect chakra control. My goal for the future is- is to-"

Wavering uncertainly, the rest just slips out.

"-is to be someone Sasuke-kun would like."

The bright red blush is immediate, flooding her cheeks with mortification, and _oh kami she really really really wants to cover her face and just **run** now and hide under her bed and maybe never ever come back out until everybody's dead and forgotten_.

"I didn't say that!" she squeaks instead, viridian eyes terrified and wide, her blush in full force.

Her gaze darts between Sasuke-kun and her Jounin-sensei and even Naruto and she finds that she can't quite look any of them in the face.

In the end, she drop her head down and cradles it with her hands, closing her eyes and groaning miserably, her blush receding.

"I'm so sorry I really didn't mean to say that but it kinda just slipped out and I'm really freakin' sorry but now you must think that I'm a weak pansy and I'm rambling now and I'm starting to run out of breath so I'm just gonna shut up right now."

Somebody nudges her right shoulder and she jerks away reflexively, looking up tentatively to see lake-ripple eyes and suncatcher hair.

Naruto grins at her, not one of those goofy squinty-eyed grins from the past that makes her want to shake him until he drops it, but a sharp and assuring one that automatically relaxes her clenched insides and whispers of _trustwarmthpeace_.

 _What **happened** to him?_

"S'okay, Sakura-chan. If that's your goal, then we'll support you, because we're your team. If you really didn't mean it, or if you want to change in later on, then we'll help you still, because we're your team, and that's what teams do for each other," he says in a matter-of-fact tone, the familiar affectionate honorific now casual and friendly.

( _He hasn't asked her out in ages, and that distresses her more than she understands why_.)

"Y- yeah, thanks," she murmurs and relaxed further, straightening up again.

"At least you've gotten past the majority of your fangirling," Sasuke-kun comments from his spot, rolling his neck.

She stubbornly beats back the reflexive blush with deep breaths and focusing on a cloud in the horizon.

"That's me, then," she says lightly, much steadier than she feels, imitating Ino-pig's breezily confident tone the best she could. "Who's next? Jounin-sensei, you never did give us your name."

"True, true," he answers, an eye-crinkling somehow-smile suddenly springing over his formerly unreadable face.

"Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi, my likes are torturing Genin, my dislikes are taking a Genin team, my hobbies are annoying people and my dream is not appropriate for underage explanation. And yes, I said 'torturing', not 'training'. It's impossible for you three to be as amazingly amazing as me, but through enough of my thinly-disguised torture-training, it's possible for you to perhaps get within the country as my skill. Alright, Pinky went, so next is Sassy-chan, and then Narky-chan!"

They trade incredulous (Sasuke), befuddled (Sakura), and resigned (Naruto) looks between them.

"I'm Narky-chan," Naruto admits with the defeated air of a combat veteran who has failed to vanquish their embarrassing nickname from existence. "Sasuke's probably Sassy-chan, since Sakura-chan's definitely Pinky, and Kakashi-sensei likes to try and keep the first syllable when convenient. Don't ask me how I know."

"How-"

" _Don't_ , teme."

The introductions continue, much swifter than Sakura's hemming and hawing over her indecision.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like weaponry, practicing my jutsus, and tomatoes. I dislike losing, sweets, and being interrupted. My hobbies are training, sparring, and maintaining the Uchiha Compound. One fun fact... is that I do not like snow. My goal for the future is to avenge my Clan."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like Hina-chan, learning more about my Clan, inventing new seals, ramen, and helping people! I dislike being overcharged, boring chakra control exercises, boring etiquette lessons, people talkin' trash about me without reason or a base for their accusations, and being restricted from eating certain amounts of ramen. My hobbies are sealing, training, eating ramen, fixing my clothes so Hina-chan doesn't scold me, and keeping my apartment clean, neat, and orderly so the seals aren't disturbed during creation. One fun fact about me is that my Clan was famous for having lots of chakra, and for their vitality and longevity, which means I heal faster and will probably be more energetic! All genetic, ha! My goals for the future are to make the Uzumaki Clan famous again, and to become respected enough of a ninja that people will elect me Hokage."

Kakashi-sensei appears mildly interested.

"... So, I've got a weapon-poison-taijutsu-medic-booky with average chakra reserves and perfect chakra control, a weapon-ninjutsu-genjutsu-taijutsu-strategics with above-average chakra reserves and above-average chakra control, and a seal-ninjutsu-powerhouse-charisma-commander with gigantic chakra reserves and barely-average chakra control. Support, nuking, tanker. Obviously a heavy-hitter specialization team. Great, meet me in Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 7 o'clock. It's not like I _can't_ pass you three, so we'll be doing a teamwork exercise that will be mostly for my own sadistic amusement, and then I'll be running you three brats ragged. I've got arguably the best team out of the Academy, and we are going to _bulldoze_ the other rookies so I can rub it in all of their Jounin-sensei's faces. Got it?"

He doesn't wait for an affirmation, instead Shunshin-ing out of sight.

"Man, what a jerkass," Sakura frowns, her words slipping out again, influenced by Inner's forceful speaking habits.

Before she can get self-conscious again, Naruto laughs mirthfully and even Sasuke-kun huffs out a small agreement.

A tanned arm slings around her shoulder, and she doesn't mind it.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto says seriously, his eyes reflecting the skies above, "You will find that Kakashi-sensei is not merely a jerkass. He is the jerkiest jerkass of all jerkasses who have ever been and ever will be. Except maybe Sassy-chan."

Sasuke-kun snarls and throws a shuriken at Naruto, who laughs again and dodges easily, hopping off the roof onto the next, his pursuer doggedly following with his never-ending assortment of sharp pointy weapons.

Sakura leans against the guardrail and feels very small and inadequate.

Then her sun twists around to wave and wink at her, the moon nodding as well.

She smiles, a little brighter.

Maybe she could eventually work her way into being their cloud?

Drifting in the background, sometimes there, sometimes not, supporting the shine of the two main actors, enhancing their beauty.

Maybe.

.

 _The Uchiha was a talker, it seemed._

 _There were ninja who, in combat, were utterly silent, preferring to dedicate their energy to concentrating on winning._

 _There were also those who, somehow, were apparently compelled to spill their life-secrets as they fought an ally._

 _It was rather silly, really, since it was simply giving their opponent more information to work off of, and ran directly opposite to practically everything the Academy taught._

 _Still, it remained a fact of life that it was appallingly easy to get caught up in the emotion and adrenaline and thrill of battle, slipping taunts and sharing answers far more freely than one would otherwise, and that most ninja fell somewhere between the two extremes of the spectrum._

 _(Nevermind that ninja were supposed to be emotionless killing machines; that only really happened all the time if you were a personality-less low-rank mook or a hardcore dedicated ANBU [or a blank-faced blank-hearted ROOT].)_

 _Hinata herself admitted to falling prey to the trap more than once._

 _In everyone's defense, oftentimes a bit of combat chatter will rile up the other, causing sloppy mistakes that a good ninja knows how to capitalize on._

 _So the point was, conversing in battle was common, and the Uchiha was one of those who were more talkative while exchanging blows than when not._

 _He was also a chronic complainer, who liked to 'de-stress' while aggressively trying to set things on fire._

 _"Fangirls-" he emphatically forced out, flashing through hand-signs._

 _His sparring partner dodged the thin, concentrated stream of fire he exhaled._

 _... And kept dodging in a continuous twirl, as he kept up the burning 'rope' that lashed after her, until he coughed up a lungful of dense smoke._

 _"-are the bane of my life," he finished, with a rather parched throat._

 _"Yet you've never done anything to fix it," Hinata dryly pointed out, ducking in for a Jyuuken thrust with one hand and knocking away the kunai he prepared to counter with with the other._

 _The Uchiha followed up the aborted kunai-pierce by leaping backwards and assaulting her with dozens of shuriken, carefully keeping his distance from his Taijutsu superior._

 _"All vitals?" she noted, arms flashing in bright chakra bursts, batting away the ones she couldn't dodge._

 _A split-second Kawarimi happened right after, and he was suddenly face-down on the ground with a knee on his back and fingers jabbing rapidly over his increasingly numb body._

 _"A win for me," Hinata finished, getting up and unblocking his tenketsu points graciously. "You still need more speed to dodge. It is good, however, that you've stopped calling out your Goukakyuu, and that you've refined it somewhat."_

 _"Anything I say will be seen as encouragement," the Uchiha argued, referring back to the 'fangirl problem' as he stretched his sore limbs. "And I can hardly dodge a full-force Jyuuken attack from the back. My archery is rather useless, too, until I can conceal my position better and evade you long enough to get far away."_

 _"But have you ever tested that theory? The one where you use the words you have."_

 _"Yes," he intoned flatly, not appreciating her barely-there sense of humor._

 _"What did you say?" she persisted, undeterred, going through a few warm-down katas of her own._

 _She liked to be right; it was a forgivable flaw of hers._

 _"I told them to stop bothering me. They squealed, burst my eardrums, half of them fainted, and the other half were harping on about me 'acknowledging their love'," he repeated, sounding visibly disturbed._

 _Fangirls (and fanboys): the Uchiha Clan's age-long curse._

 _"How did you deter your fanboys? They're so much quieter," he realized after a moment of thought._

 _"Well, they were always quieter to start with," she corrected, "and it appears that my countenance invited admiration of the distant kind. I did, however, have to politely turn down the few souls who I can't decide are braver or dumber, and a spar would knock down the stubbornest ones. As it is, after the first request for a date three years ago, I told him very precisely and bit louder than needed that we were **7**. An emphasis on the **7**. Now we are 10, which isn't much better. He looked appropriately abashed and apologized. Since then, I mostly receive gifts on White Day and Christmas. Hanabi appreciates the chocolates._

 _"Which brings me back to my suggestion. Since you apparently have something against striking fangirls physically, then make it verbally understood that you are not interested in a fangirl, ever. State it clearly and strongly, and people will listen, if only a few will actually change. That's good public speaking advice, as well."_

 _The Uchiha seemed dubious._

 _Hinata was not fond of being doubted._

 _"Try it," she stated it clearly and strongly._

 _He listened._

 _And then he spun around and tried to stab her with another kunai._

 _The spar went on._

 _._

 _Sakura determinedly dashed down the street, skidding to a stop in front of the Academy._

 _Checking her red watch and the sky above, she figured she was an hour earlier than when her Year 5 class officially started._

 _Perfect, she wasn't too late._

 _After five straight minutes of winding her way through the confusing-as-heck maze-like hallways, a red-clothed pinkette slammed open her classroom door, before cringing at how it had drawn her Sasuke-kun's attention._

 _Oh no, she must have startled him, and slamming doors is **so** unladylike, and now he's going to hate her forever!_

 _She unfroze out of her despair as quickly as she had fallen into it, metaphorical flames ignited in her eyes as she spots the crowd of girls fighting tooth-and-nail over the empty chair directly to Sasuke-kun's right._

 ** _Oh they are not getting their bitchy hands on that fucking chair! Sasuke-kun's mine! SHANNA-fucking-RO!_**

 _The dark, roaring voice of Inner pumps her up as always, and it gives her an extra bit of vindication when she finds that she'd beaten Ino-pig to school._

 _Her elation is heady and strengthening._

 _She dives headfirst into the fray with eagerness and bloodlust vibrating in her veins, fighting tooth-and-nail-and- **hairpull** , elbowing with the best of them._

 _Decorum be damned, first thing to getting Sasuke-kun to properly notice and fall in love with me is to **get that chair!**_

 _(Blinded by spittle, among other things, Sakura doesn't notice the empty chair a seat over from the object of her obsessions' left._

 _Some others see it, and a few dare to try and take it, but the quiet and fearsome Hyuuga heiress' stare and soft warning of 'this seat is taken' chases them off._

 _Hyuuga Hinata is top of the female Taijutsu spars, and, as events two years ago have shown, the top of the male Taijutsu spars as well._

 _She isn't a fangirl, so despite their beloved Sasuke-kun's relative closeness to her, none of the fangirls bother her much._

 _At least, not after the infamous and disastrous confrontation [also two years ago]._

 _They accept that she isn't a fangirl, and leave her alone whenever possible._

 _She isn't popular among her own gender..._

 _But she's respected, and more than a little feared._

 _Perhaps her reputation prevents many from examining her too closely._

 _As it is, none of the brawling fangirls noticed her very, very, very faintly amused look._

 _None of the non-brawling students could tell the difference, anyway, so it doesn't matter overly in the long run of things.)_

 _An hour flies by like a messenger hawk, swift and with a goal in sight._

 _The teacher slouches in, calls role call._

 _Sakura triumphantly sits in her hard-won chair, breathing heavily with slightly torn clothes and mussed hair that she frantically pats into place, darting dreamy glances at her Sasuke-kun the entire time._

 _Lost fangirls grumblingly fill in the chairs left, Ino-pig glaring bitterly at her._

 _(She pretends it's just her being jealous, and mutes that uncomfortable feeling at having her once-bestie glaring death at her.)_

 _Oddly, no one notices the deadlast of the class slink in silently, nod gratefully to the imperious Hyuuga, and take the reserved chair, only that he wasn't there before yet miraculously appeared when his name was called._

 _(Except, he's **not** deadlast anymore. _

_He's actually hovering somewhere near averagely-average range, but the name's stuck, and he doesn't correct it.)_

 _It's a daily phenomenon that strikes probably everyone but lazy Shikamaru, the Hyuuga, and Sasuke-kun, who never seem surprised, so it's dismissed easily as habit._

 _Lessons pass as accustomed:_

 _Teacher teaches, students study, fangirls fangirl._

 _Then lunchbreak is announced, the teacher leaves, and a deviation from the schedule happens unexpectedly._

 _Sasuke-kun turns to look at them._

 _Sakura immediately blushes a glowing red, eyes wide and sparkling, teetering on the edge of a faint._

 _She doesn't need to look behind her to know that the rest of her fellow fans are the exact same._

 _Because Sasuke-kun has never looked at them before, never looked specifically, and pretty much everyone in the **Sasuke-kun Fanclub** has fantasized more than once about him asking them out in that gorgeous voice of his._

 _Kami, what if it's me!_

 _"I-" he starts, and at least three thunks come from people falling out of their desks at him **actually addressing them**._

 _"-will never be interested in a weak fangirl who will always be waiting for me to save them. If you don't grow up and become competent kunoichi, then this profession isn't for you. Being a ninja isn't a fun, glorified job."_

 _It's the closest he's come to a speech in forever._

 _Most of the fangirls look ecstatic, either ignoring the words entirely or believing themselves to already be fantastic kunoichi._

 _Sakura..._

 _... would have been in the latter, or perhaps in both categories, if she hadn't been sitting so close to him._

 _She's close enough to stare into his eyes, which is actually what she'd spent most of the schoolday doing so far._

 _In his eyes, right now, she sees disgust and scorn and hatred, and something inside of her shrivels up at the sight._

 _Maybe it's the proximity, but it seems like all of that is specifically aimed at her._

 _It makes her question herself._

 _'Am- Am I really one of those weak fangirls?'_

 _She reviews her grades and droops at the memory of her lackluster Taijutsu showings, which she'd always taken as 'good-enough' before._

 _A sudden reminder hits her of the note on her last report cards, reading, 'Sakura is a decent student, but is disinclined towards furthering herself. It is recommended that she take up a desk position later, to complement her scholastic achievements.'_

 _There were further notes on her below-average chakra pool and weak but textbook perfect katas that she'd dismissed, too caught up in her daydreams of Sasuke-kun to take seriously._

 _Sasuke-kun turn away again, and stands up, leaving, his piece said._

 _Sakura trails her gaze after him, bewildered and a little bit hurt, thinking thinking thinking._

 _A movement near his vacated seat automatically catches her attention._

 _It's Hyuuga Hinata, murmuring something to that Naruto-baka, moving gracefully out of her chair with the surety and footwork gained through hundreds of hours of training._

 _Something hot surges in her chest, something envious and angry and ashamed, all at once._

 _She realizes that, out of them all, **she's** the most competent kunoichi, really._

 _Part of her wants to blame it on Hinata's Clan status and Heiress status and thus obviously superior training._

 _(Like Ino, like Ino leaving her behind so fast she can't even cry in the dust-)_

 _The rest of her reluctantly accepts that she's angry at how much better Hinata is, and ashamed that she's targeting the Hyuuga for doing nothing other than besting her without intention, and doubly shamed for blaming someone else because she herself didn't do more to improve._

 _(But it's galling because what is everyone better than her first Ino her savior best friend and now this graceful girl who she's inferior in every way and it **rankles** her that she didn't try harder practice more be **better** for once in her fucking life-)_

 _Probably, she doesn't even know who Sakura is, other than those five-second beat-downs during their assigned spars._

 _But if Sakura wants to gain Sasuke-kun's acknowledgement, gain his acknowledgement like the Hyuuga obviously did, then she'll just have to get better and become a competent kunoichi, won't she?_

 _Sasuke-kun sees strength, and Sakura wants Sasuke-kun to see **her**._

 _Never let it be said that Haruno Sakura isn't mulishly stubborn and fast at bouncing back._

 _Alright, we're training after school today!_

 ** _Atta girl! ... Why not ask if Ino-pig has had a change of heart as well?_**

 _'Inner' is really a suppressed, isolated part of Haruno Sakura that had, slowly, evolved over time into it's own pseudo-sentience, serving as a more vocal conscience, amid other things._

 _'Inner' is, therefore, the parts of Sakura that she usually ignores._

 _Meaning, some part of Sakura must have wanted to reconnect with her very first and best friend, even if she refused to consciously acknowledge that at that point._

 _Ah._

 _Give it time..._

 _._

 _Yamanaka Ino is a badass kunoichi, and you'd better know it!_

 _"Ugh, no," she suddenly frowned into her mirror, where she'd been practicing her team introduction._

 _(There was still a few months to go before graduation, but Ino had no doubts about graduating, and her team was practically filed-in-paperwork already._

 _'Ino-Shika-Cho', obviously, just like the generation before her, and the generation before that, and so on and so on all the way since the three Clans first allied in the Warring Clans Period.)_

 _"That sounds way too much like Naruto's 'believe it' slogan, and there's, like, no chance in **hell** I'm gonna stoop to copying **him**!"_

 _"Technically, you just repeated his slogan when stating what it was. Though, I actually haven't heard him say that in a while... Anyway, talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, Ino-pig. Seeing as your dad's a psychologist..." a voice pointed out, bored and edged with humor, from behind her._

 _"Oh, shaddup," Ino sniffed and waved her hand without looking back, pretending to be mock-offended. "I'll have you know, Forehead-girl, that after 18 months of hard work and too much father-daughter time, I'm practically a certified psychologist myself, methinks! And I'm **not** talking to myself... **you're** here, aren't you?"_

 _Sakura grinned, fond and wry, her reflection in the mirror also grinning from her position on Ino's bed._

 _"Whoah, 'methinks'? Where'd you hear that? Heck yeah I'm here, though. The world needed some awesomeness to counteract your unawesomeness."_

 _ **That** caused Ino to whirl around in genuine indignation._

 _"Oy!" she commanded menacingly, one finger sticking imperiously in her direction._

 _Unimpressed, her pink-haired too-smart-for-her-own-good friend stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry._

 _Folding, Ino gave in and giggled at the childishness of the retaliatory gesture, and bounced onto her comforter, pushing her pillow off onto her swiveling desk-chair._

 _"Alright! Reports, ladies and... Sakura! Give 'em here!"_

 _"What are you implying, Ino-pig!? That I'm not a lady!?"_

 _"Well, do you wanna be a lady or do you wanna be a kunoichi, Forehead-girl!?"_

 _Sakura opened her mouth to retort hotly._

 _Then she paused, soaked in those words, and nodded._

 _"I guess you're right," she admitted. "But then are you saying that you're not a kunoichi?"_

 _There was a quite-real tinge of uncertainty lining her question._

 _If it weren't for Ino, Sakura probably wouldn't have ever entered the Academy._

 _(It was silently agreed that they don't speak of the 'fangirl period', unless situations called for it specifically.)_

 _Ino beamed with (inside) pride at that accomplishment, but couldn't resist one more teasing line._

 _"Nah, I'm just saying that I'm awesome enough to be both a lady **and** a kunoichi at once."_

 _"Wh-what!? But you just said-"_

 _"Exactly, in order to prove my point."_

 _"And that point is?"_

 _"I'm far more awesome than you are, duh."_

 _"No way, I'm stronger and I'll win Sasuke-kun's recognition!"_

 _They immediately quieted, and Ino stared hard at her friend, who blushed and ducked her head, unable to meet Ino's eyes.  
_

 _"Sakura..." she started, faintly disappointed._

 _"Yes, yes, I know the rules. Don't speak of 'That Period', don't mention 'Him' by name, don't say anything about winning 'his' recognition," Sakura sulked, embarrassed and abashed._

 _"Right, because...?"_

 _"Because we're both awesome girls who will become awesome kunoichi!" the pinkette finished, regaining some of her former zest._

 _Ino smiled, prouder, and coaxed Sakura into chattering away about her progress in weaponry, devouring books, taijutsu, beginner's poisons, etc._

 _It was nice to have her friend back, to have things go back somewhat to how they were before Sakura got that inferiority complex and wanted something to prove she was on the same level as Ino._

 _Really, for her, Sasuke-kun had been a nice dream, but ultimately nothing extreme._

 _Sakura had taken things a bit too far in her spirit of competition, turning their friendship into a bitter rivalry, Ino left feeling vaguely betrayed and angry that the flower she'd taken care of had turned around and pricked her once budded._

 _Even now, Sakura's main motivation seemed to be Sasuke._

 _Ino just wanted her friend back._

 _Ino just wanted to **keep** her friend this time._

 _It was more than a petty fight over the surface reason of a shared crush._

 _"Hey, Ino-pig, I've read pretty much all of the theory scrolls for iryo-ninjutsu that are available to Academy students from the public library, but I can't really find anyone to teach me the practical. The hospital is understaffed, and to apply for lessons, I'll need a sponsor. Do... um, would you mind...?"_

 _Sakura was jealous of Ino's Clan, envious of Ino's confidence since childhood._

 _Ino would give all of those things to have her friend happy, to have her meek-hearted seedling unfurl her bright blooms._

 _"Sure, no problem, Forehead-girl! I'll bring it up with Tou-chan, I swear that he and Kaa-chan like your egghead self better than **me** at times! Want to spar today?"_

 _"Ha, I'll definitely win, Ino-pig! I've gotten better at my katas! You won't know what hit you!"_

 _"In your dreams! I've been working on my Clan jutsus too, y' know!"_

 _"Race to the usual place!"_

 _"Oh, you're on!"_

 _Tumbling off the mattress and laughing, shoving and elbowing, squeezing through the door and sliding down the stairs, footsteps chestnut-pelting on the dirt-packed roads._

 _Some friendships lasted best in rivalry._

 _If theirs was so, then Ino would do her best to ensure it was a healthy rivalry._

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _In which Hinata interferes, Ino is stronger, and Sakura is complicated. (Her character is now a mix of her former self-consciousness, of what she could've been, of determination to improve herself, and of vague affections for Sasuke as her initial motivation.) Also, clearer characterizations for Team Seven._**

 ** _If some things about Sakura don't seem to match up, that's either your opinion, or it's from something I forgot to fix when I put this together. I wrote some things at different times._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Reviews are appreciated.-_**

 ** _-Shout out to turtlehoffmann2251 for being the only one to say 'gooseberry', as well as post a review after last chapter. Also, you should probably take all of those drabbles as AU or indecisively-canon, because again, I write things at different times, so some details might not match up. I try to make sure they do, but mistakes happen.-_**


	5. Umbrella

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are the minds, the hearts, the souls any different?_ _[AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(rainy rookwing regrets remembered)**

 **.**

 **[Age -3]**

"It's raining."

"…"

"Rather nice. Peaceful. Soothing. We don't really get much of this kind of rain in Konoha."

"…?"

"As in, the cool, small-force rain that pitter-patters on rooftops and is lovely to look at when you're on a shielded porch and leaves everything looking refreshed and clean and sharp afterwards. Usually we get the misty, humid sort of drizzle that frizzes hair and clings to skin and blurs vision, or the thunderous storms that drum like they're going to go right through the ceiling and never end without toppling over at least one great tree and drowning all the shallower gutters."

"… poetic."

"Me? Oh, not really. I just tend to ramble. Bad habit of mine. Ah, who knows? Maybe I'll have a daughter the same way, and we can ramble together about nonsense and nothings."

"… you're never nonsense."

"Hah! I am, I am. You're too forgiving towards my faults, Ashi-kun. I ramble about everything and I dither over purchases and I read more than I move and I still have sloppy handwriting and I've killed every plant that I've touched and I'd boil water dry given the opportunity and I can't stomach tea and with this body of mine I suppose I have more time than I want to fix those faults-"

"…"

"…"

"…?"

"… Aa. Sorry about… that. It's just- nevermind. Forget about that."

"… if you want."

"Thank you, Ashi-kun. See? This is what I love about you. You always listen. Not that it's hard with your lack of speech, but I've often found that it's easier to be a good talker than it is to be a good listener."

"… you're welcome."

"Humble as ever. Well, anyway…"

"…"

"Nothing to say?"

"… no."

"Really?"

"… yes. Your voice is pleasant to hear."

"Oh, you charmer. Hm, let's see, what's happened lately? Oh, Ren asked me out."

"The Uchiha?"

"Yes, you know, the one with the silver clips and the twin sister."

"Did you accept?"

"Kami no. It's also not really like I had a chance to. He heard my latest diagnosis and… took a mission on that day."

"… I'm glad."

"You're _glad_ that I was humiliatingly ditched from a date offer?"

"If he was put off by your illness, then he would not have been a good significant other to you later on."

"… I guess. Agh, you're right as always, Ashi-kun. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just that- that- I'm tired of always being seen as that poor little sick girl, y'know? I had- I _have_ my own life, too. I'm 27, I'm a Jounin, I'm a damn good kunoichi and I'm a Bukijutsu master! I have worth as my own person, and I'm not just defined by this-"

 _Kaaw, heeak, kuh, uh, uh._

"You're coughing up spit."

"So, a-" _Kiaaawgh._ "-and?"

"It's pink spit. You're coughing up blood and spit, Hitomi-san. This is serious."

"… hasn't it _always_ been serious?"

"You need to go to the hospital, Hitomi-san."

"… I already went. Didn't you hear me? Uchiha Ren heard my latest diagnosis and decided he'd rather not date a dying girl. A dying girl. That's what I am now, in three simple words. Words, words, words… words build the world, words tear down society. All comes down to words."

"Hitomi-san, you're going into shock. Really, you must go to the hospital and let the healers help you."

"They can't. Tsunade-hime herself said it; they can't help me. Rare disease, and all that. Fifteen recorded cases in history, eight of them in Konohagakure. Recessive gene. I'm the last of my family, whose only apparent ability was to pass down bucketfuls of 'rare recessive genes'. And now I'm dying and I can't fix that, Hiashi. I can't fix that, they can't fix that, they say they'll need at least fifteen more years of study to figure out which of my recessive genes are the ones causing the problem, and that's not even halfway to a solution."

"…"

"Nothing to say to that? _Kami_ , Ashi-Ashi, what am I supposed to do? Fifteen more years until there's even a hope. I'm lucky if I make it ten more years. I'm 27 and I'm a Jounin and I'm a damn good kunoichi and I'm a Bukijutsu master but none of that means _anything_ if they have to take me off the roster in a year because of this thrice-cursed disease! Because then I'm out of a job and I'm out of income and who'd want to date a broke dying girl? Who'd want to _marry_ a dying girl? You know me, Ashi-kun, we've been Genin and Chuunin and Jounin together. I've never put much faith in marriage, but _kami_ I wanted _children_ and a husband and have that family I never got the chance to know! Maybe that's a bit self-pitying of myself, but what's the point of having a family if you're going to die before your lover and you'll never see your kids grow up?"

"I'd marry you, Hitomi-san."

"… I- I don't need a pity date, Hiashi! Stop joking!"

 _Splash, splash, shwoooooomp!_

Hyuuga Hiashi stood under a large white umbrella, watching his Genin teammate and best friend and crush storm angrily away from him, stomping furiously in the puddles as she ran-fled to her apartment building, pretending she wasn't crying burning tears that mixed into the rain.

She looked awfully small, stumbling in the rain she so dearly loved, short black hair dulled by worry and thin arms and long legs and unhealthily pale skin, flushed rosy with feverish emotion, tugging her rapidly-sodden mauve jacket closer to her slender water-slicked figure, sturdy wrists and strong shoulders and weakening muscle mass-

And those heliotrope eyes bright under thick jackdaw lashes.

 _But I wasn't joking, Hitomi._

He never joked about Hitomi.

.

Years later, Hiashi stares straight into those heliotrope eyes calmly blinking rookwing spiderwebs, and forces himself not to see Hitomi.

Hinata asks, "Is something the matter, Otou-sama?"

"No… No, it is fine, daughter. Return to your meal."

It is easier to look at Hanabi, with her energy and vivacity, her eyes as bright as Hitomi, but rimmed with cinnamon curls.

It is easier to look at a copy of Hitomi at her best, _just_ colored differently enough, than it is to look at an alien copy of Hitomi, identical in appearance and still so _not her._

The alien copy who _he_ alienated.

It is easier, and Hyuuga Hiashi is not someone you would accuse of always taking the easy route, but in this case, he _does_.

(If he closes his eyes, he can envision Hitomi crying the rain, crying for her and for him and for their children, feathers snipped by Hyuuga chains.

They are not sealed, but not all cages are physical, or immediately seen.

The worst are the ones imprinted from birth, the ones not regarded as them.

The ones the prisoners can't tell are prisons.

Where the wardens as as much locked as the inmates.)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Hiashi + Hitomi =_**

 ** _HiHi_**

 ** _Hinata + Hanabi =_**

 ** _HiHi Spawn_**

 ** _And that's how their family goes, folks._**

 ** _Also known as, that one chapter where Hinata's mother is given characterization of sorts._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Reviews are appreciated. I'd write something witty here, but this is my second post today for this story, so I'm out of ideas.-_**


	6. Greeting

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(routine, for better or for worse)**

 **.**

 **[Age** **8]**

There are a hundred greetings in a day.

More than that, in all likeliness, but some stand out to her especially, two fixed ones never-changing on her schedule.

.

.

.

Dawn breaks; whichever Branch member in charge of waking her up will politely knock on her chambers' door, and just as politely murmur a properly respectful alert.

There is no 'good morning' or 'hello'.

There is only the uniform, bland, "Breakfast will be ready in an hour."

Hinata tries to be polite and respectful of the Branch members as well, but it's... difficult to do so when the Main members seem to always be watching and disapproving, when the Branch members seem to always be startled and wary.

'At least,' she thinks, 'they don't appear to be particularly resentful of me.'

(That doesn't say much, though; the Branch members could simply be hiding their resentment behind impassive, stone-faced facades. Neji's level of shown resentment is rare, and has earned him a few seal-shocks from the harsher Main members. He is allowed a bit of leeway, since Hiashi is unfathomably stern and lenient with him in randomized turns.)

'When I am Clan Head, I will need the support of the Branch, the support of the Main. I will need the support of the _Hyuuga_.'

.

.

.

Breakfast comes; Hiashi is watchful, Hanabi is winsome, Neji is willful.

She herself is reserved and careful, calibrating to Hiashi's mood, Hanabi's emotion, Neji's attitude.

 _Formal formality forms fortune._

They mutter 'itadakimasu', and eat quietly from then on.

When finished, Hinata asks for permission to leave, for whatever it is she intends to do afterwards.

School, mostly.

If it's a week-end, or day-off, or summer vacation, she'll have to first ask if there is anything she has to do today.

There might be a Clan event, or a public appearance, or a ceremony, or _something_.

Hiashi will then inform her of the 'something', and she will accordingly be detained.

Otherwise...

"May I be excused to depart for personal training in the Konohagakure park area, Otou-sama?"

Head down, bow still, carefully detached tone.

"You may, Hinata. Will you require any guards?"

"I feel that my training will be successful without having an escort, Otou-sama. Of course, I defer to your final decision, Otou-sama."

"Very well, then. If you so wish, Hinata, then I will allow that to be."

Interruption, hero-worship, bright and _young_.

"Tou-sama! Can I go with Nee-chan, um, Nee-san?"

Hinata wants to cringe, wince, sigh at her lack of decorum.

Hiashi surveys the trembling form of Hanabi, whose eyes are shining and chopsticks are clenched in eagerness.

Sharp rebuke, creased brow, thunderous frown.

"Use 'may', not 'can'. Lower your voice. Excess emotion is a weakness open to exploitation. Hyuuga do not use utterances such as 'um' and 'uh' and any similar sounds. Have you forgotten all of your decorum teachings? You are past the age where you are given freedom to use '-chan' for addressing those close to you, and slip-ups are not welcomed, even if you are not the heiress-apparent. Do you understand, Hanabi?"

Cowed, look down, meek nod.

"Yes, Otou-sama. I am very apologetic for my misuse of my words, and will seek to avoid further incidents in the near future," Hanabi said delicately, trying her best to imitate her Nee-chan's speech.

Imperious nod.

"We have reached an agreement on this subject, then. I will allow you to accompany your sister to her training, provided you do not distract her in anyway. A guard will have to escort both of you, now."

Hiashi returns to his food, and the matter is closed.

Hinata restrains another sigh, but obediently lets her imouto trail after her outside.

The door closes behind them.

Neji didn't say a word the entire time, other than the required 'ohayou gozaimasu' and 'itadakimasu'.

.

.

.

There are others, of course, many others.

When she meets with her escorts, they give her stiff nods, just low enough to be respectful, and proceed to shadow her steps from a distance, her vigilant watchers.

(Wardens, more like. Wardens, in the guise of prisoners, making sure the other prisoners under illusions of control cannot escape.)

When she walks down the streets, milling civilians steer clear from her steady gaze, seeing only the bloodline and the straightened backs of her watches (guards), not the girl oh-so-lonely, snuffing out the need for friendly human interaction through years of practice and an iron clamp of steeled will.

Vendors sometimes venture to offer her free samples, an image of prospective advertising and business tentatively blooming in their irises, overlaying the heiress they view, missing the child underneath.

(She makes a point of always refusing those offers, as a point of ultimately irrelevant spite, slick stinging sourness in her throat.)

When she reaches the Academy, students avert their eyes, glimpses of fear and flashes of jealousy and snippets of glazed, distant indifference being all she can glean from the gleams.

When she reaches her classroom, braver classmates sitting near her cautiously murmur a terse 'ohayou', quickly beginning new conversations with others, born out of some unfathomable, fervent desire to avoid her.

(They look at her and what do they see? They see a cold genius, a talented heiress, the top student and the 'Ice Queen'. They do not see someone they can approach, they do not see someone they know _how_ to approach without faltering and drawing up short.

Afraid of making fools of themselves, of bothering her and unintentionally setting off a potentially dangerous temper, they retreat and withdraw, content to maintain the painful status quo.

... painful for whom?)

When the bell rings and classes start, the busy, overworked instructor, who scrawls furiously on the board with an expression of resigned monotony, spares them all an uniform, bland, general 'good morning', one which they return with varying amounts of enthusiasm and sincerity.

Short compliments are dispersed among them, growing longer and gaining floweriness as the day wears on and the teachers collectively perk up near the closing of school hours.

It is no surprise that the Clan-affiliated children are given greater encouragement and attention, sly preferential treatment shown openly if one is astute enough to keep their ears listening and their eyes open.

Hinata has very good eyes.

It's somewhat of a family trait.

Perhaps the Aburame sees it as well, definitely the Nara, and maybe the Uchiha, for such blatant favoritism cannot have gone past him, at the very lest.

Very likely he knows, and does not care.

If the Uzumaki attends class, she keeps a discreet eye on him, cutting in and interfering discreetly if she believes the instructor is acting unfairly towards him.

More unfairly than the Clan-gap, that is, although technically he is also Clan, simply not of a Konohagakure Clan.

The grateful glances and whispered thanks she receives suffices as payment, his words lighting a mushy sort of warmth in her stomach that she equates to the feeling she gets after spending time with Hanabi.

If the Uzumaki has once again skipped class for the day, she often meets him in the Academy training grounds afterschool, 'personal training' being one of the few times she can be escort-free.

(Escorts still come to pick her up at the gates at the time she specifices, but that is just unshakeable protocol, and to an extent, the less cynical part of her can appreciate the security measures implemented for her benefit.

The more cynical part of her can appreciate the canny ways of controlling her actions the Clan Council has undoubtedly spent generations devising, developing, and adjusting.)

His greeting is one of her favorites, tied right up there with her imouto's.

An innocent grin, sky-catcher crescents forming as eyes of pure cheer, a relatively tame shout of welcome, a forward bounce with arms outstretched.

Hinata allows herself a few seconds of indulging in the hug, indulging herself and the boy both, before firmly ordering him to release her, and they begin lessons.

The heated glow of pride she retains after another successful mentoring session is a greeting all on it's own, basking in the addictive sunshine that is the Uzumaki's chakra and tortuously naive personality.

The best kind of torture, she would think, because sometimes, sometimes the world doesn't need any cold-hearted calculating cynicism.

The world has enough of that already.

No, sometimes what the world needs is a dose of refreshing, clenching, bracing naivety, to combat the drudging weariness of everyday battles, battles fought in the mind, the morality, the gray realms of circumstance.

A giant star is what the sun is.

Uzumaki Naruto, she is sure, is a core reactor, one who can _create_ galaxies of inspiration on a whim.

It is vaguely depressing on some internal level, as paradoxical as the notion is.

She knows she cannot measure up to that brilliance.

And she can accept that.

So long as she has a front-seat to the fireworks, the explosive force that he is, that he will be.

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 ** _Re-posting the drabbles, edited and with some added elaborations._**

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 ** _- Reviews are almost as good as ice cream after a long road trip. Trust me. I know.-_**


	7. Complicated

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

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 **.**

 **(rivalries through mirror edges)**

 **.**

 **[Age - ]**

The two Doujutsu Clans of Konohagakure have been locked in a bitter rivalry since the founding of the village.

In the eyes of the other Clans, their competition is remarkably similar to the squabble between two spoiled rich brats in a civilian school.

(They are respected for their power, yes, but not quite well-liked among their fellow ninja, who are mostly of the opinion that they are both equally stiff stuck-up sneering sooty snobs of the highest un-fashion.)

Both claim prestige, strength, knowledge, ancestry, acclaim, Noble Clan status, unfairly symmetrical attractiveness, perfect complexions, increased sickness immunity, large chakra pools, richness.

You have a Sharingan that can copy jutsus and chakra flow and _memorize everything?_

Oh, big deal.

We have a Byakugan that can do the two former, as well as _see through basically everything_ , and it doesn't deteriorate eyesight or require trauma to trigger or provoke mania.

You produce genii and prodigies every single generation?

Oh, who cares.

We produce a genius or prodigy every other generation or so, who are, on the whole, significantly well-balanced and who have never deserted the village or otherwise given in to insanity and snapped from the pressure.

You have the Konohagakure Police?

Oh, you can have _that_.

We don't have to deal with civilians, and have more Jounin in the workforce as well as more Chuunin pulled for Compound patrol-duty.

(You have gorgeous hair?

Um, puh- _lease_.

 _Bitch_.

Like, have you _seen_ this hair, these sumptuous locks and perfect fringe and glossy shine?

Girl [and Uchiha in general], we _rule_ the hair game.

And just _where_ do you think you buy your shampoos and conditioners and oils and frizz-sprays from?

Uh-huh.

That's right.)

Cold-blooded Hyuuga are capable of deep devotion, unchanging constancy, emotionally removed logic.

Naturally, they clash against the hot-blooded Uchiha, who are known for their passion and rage and scorn and desperation and madness, zipping between extremes within a heartbeat.

(It's actually rather ironic.

Water tends to be the Hyuuga affinity, despite their insignia of a flame, and fire tends to be the Uchiha affinity, despite their symbol of a fan.)

One simmers, cool and maybe lukewarm. One forcibly freezes, cold but wanting to explode.

Needless to say, they bring out the worst in each other.

The Uchiha trump card and tipping point over the Hyuuga has always been the fact that _they_ were one of the _founding_ Clans.

The Hyuuga trump card and tipping point over the Uchiha has always been the fact that they were _founded_ from _their_ Clan.

Then the Uchiha Clan is massacred down to one child and the rivalry is mostly accepted as the Hyuuga's final win.

Until the Hyuuga Heiress-apparent begins training with the Uchiha Heir-apparent.

Well...

That complicates things.

(Hinata gets away with it by telling Hiashi she merely upholding their rivalry by testing herself against the Uchiha and comparing their improvement.

Hiashi is grudgingly content with it so long as the elders are off his back about it, which translates to so long as Hinata keeps reporting wins.

Sasuke doesn't exactly have any other Uchiha to excuse himself to.

This isn't as reassuring as one might believe.)

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 ** _Re-posted, hastily. Separating my drabbles from 'Bricks' into chapters._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	8. History

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

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 **.**

 **(creation of legends begins with a bloom, not a burst or a bang)**

 **.**

 **[Age 6]**

It is faintly dazzling, awe-some.

The Uzumaki grins up at her with a smile full of sharp teeth and those beautiful eyes brimming with _excitement-hope-laughter-joy-dreams-creation_ , his too-small hands clutching a strip of silk, inky swirls slipping through his fingers.

Many seals have been made before, and his Clan was notorious for their affinity with seals, but it still provokes a measure of reverence in her when her pet-project of sorts presents her with a self-made seal, tested and true.

He's making history, he is, and it was partly that aura of _something-greater-destined-better_ that had drawn her to him in the first place.

Uzumaki's making history, not yet out of the Academy, and Hinata has a front-row seat to it.

Her larger hand accepts his offering, her longer fingers gently tracing the sure strokes.

Teaching him proper calligraphy and steering him onto the road of fuuinjutsu had been worth it; Uzumaki had been beyond delighted to hear of his extinct Clan.

"What does it do?" she asks.

He grins wider, she twitches her lips in faint fondness, and it all spirals from there.

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 ** _Short drabble is short. Also, a real drabble._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	9. Rivalry

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

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 **.**

 **(in which hinata is indisputably boss)**

 **.**

 **[Age 9]**

"I won't let you steal Hina-chan!" Naruto boldly declared, complete with a finger pointing aggressively at his darker-colored counterpart, dramatic stance and all.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow the merest fraction of an inch.

"Hn," clearly outlined his contemptuous feelings towards _that_ particular statement.

"Dobe," he added after an appropriately silent beat, just to rile the other up further.

Both froze up, sudden and swift, toppling over without aplomb.

"Petty," Hinata herself coolly decided, gliding past with arms dropping back to her sides, from where they had neatly jabbed the appropriate pressure points in the boy she saw as a student/ward, and the boy she saw as a training partner.

Paralyzed, Naruto mentally pouted at the assessment of his 'nee-chan', and Sasuke mentally scowled at being caught calling the dobe a dobe.

His sparring partner was surprisingly touchy about that; surprisingly touchy, as in she actually frowned at him the first time and had very formally requested him to 'cease and desist in referring to Uzumaki in that manner'.

Very formal language meant she was either pissed, uncomfortable, or attending to Clan matters.

(Otherwise, she was just 'formal', without the 'very', and occasionally even edged into simply 'polite' territory.)

With some dismay and equal aching, Sasuke realized that her being (secretly and silently and oh-so-quite-nicely) pissed meant his bruises from today's afternoon sparring were guaranteed to increase at least 61.938%.

Once Hinata turned the corner of the Academy Building and disappeared from sight, Naruto (with his suspiciously fantastic healing abilities) managed to shake off the paralysis enough to stick out his tongue tauntingly at his self-declared rival.

"Ah! Eeh ah-oh ah eu oo! Eh-ee, uh?"

 _Translation: "Hah! She also got you too! Petty, huh?"_

Sasuke glared with searing heat, which had about as much of an effect on Naruto as it did on Hinata.

.

( _Narutomon's_ _Ability_ _:_ _ **Oblivious Goodwill**_ _= Repels_ _ **Mood Effects**_ _with a_ _ **High Chance**_ _, Raises the_ _ **Mood**_ _of_ _ **All Allies**_ _by a_ _ **High Percentage**_ _, and Gives a_ _ **High Boost**_ _to_ _ **Active**_ _ **Skill**_ _:_ _ **Talk no Jutsu/Come to the Good Side, We Have Ramen**_ _(_ _ **TJ/CGSWHR**_ _)!_

 _[_ _ **Skill**_ _of_ _ **TJ/CGSWHR**_ _can convert one_ _ **Enemy**_ _into an_ _ **Ally**_ _with a_ _ **High Chance**_ _._ _ **Side Effect**_ _: Prevents_ _ **Fatal Damage**_ _being taken in the duration of the_ _ **Skill**_ _.]_

 _._

 _Hinatamon's_ _Ability_ _:_ _ **Sub-Zero Drive**_ _= Repels_ _ **Mood Effects**_ _with a_ _ **High Chance**_ _, Raises the_ _ **Determination**_ _of_ _ **All Allies**_ _by an_ _ **Unfixed Percentage**_ _, and Gives a_ _ **High Boost**_ _to_ _ **Passive Skill**_ _:_ _ **Persistent Motivation**_ _(_ _ **PM**_ _)!_

 _[_ _ **Skill**_ _of_ _ **PM**_ _can increase the amount of_ _ **Training Points**_ _gained by a_ _ **High Percentage**_ _, decrease the price of Learning a_ _ **New Skill**_ _by a_ _ **High Percentage**_ _, and increase certain_ _ **Stats**_ _by an_ _ **Impressive Amount**_ _._ _ **Side Effect:**_ _ **Sympathy**_ _is decreased, minimum_ _ **Rest**_ _is decreased,_ _ **Restlessness**_ _will increase if not_ _ **Active**_ _for more than an hour_ _ **Awake**_ _.])_

.

For the next hour until Hinata returned to revive them shortly before the schoolday began, the two traded virulent death-looks and vowel-only muffled death-threats with drying (open) mouths, although Naruto's mobility grew into something resembling coherence and movable fingers.

At least their eyelids weren't included in the paralysis.

They slid (Hinata), stalked (Sasuke), and stumped (Naruto) into class, the fairer sex among them affecting a serene appearance, and the duo left looking vaguely dusty and ruffled.

('Gorgeously, smexily _smoldering_ ' quoted the rabid fangirls that day, who squee'd their very best [or worst, depending on one's point of view] that day for their 'Sasuke-kun', who broke into a quick, scrappy scuffle with 'the disgusting stupid _Naruto_ ' at lunchbreak, which he 'triumphantly rose victorious', of _course_ , but then was 'unfairly ousted from his rightful position by 'that nasty scary _Hyuuga_ ' [that is, completely and totally demolished, obliterated, whichever way you prefer to word his utter defeat] in the afternoon Academy spars.

Then 'that nasty scary _Hyuuga_ ' turned around and _Stared_ at them with the **Blank Chalky Eyes of Doom and Despair™** [because, naturally, Hyuuga eyes looked into your _mind_ and erased your _heart_ and sucked out your _soul_ into the _neverending spiraling abyss of_ _ **snowy ice**_ _and_ _ **icy tears**_ ], and all the rabid fangirls shut up very quickly and reverted back into the relatively harmless _Studentmon:_ _Ability_ _:_ _ **Redshirt Fillers =**_ _ **Passive Skill**_ _:_ _ **Unimportant Background (UB)**_ _._

It was, Sasuke mused, almost worth suffering bruises-on-bruises-on-bruises-on-wounds later, in order to relish in that hushed quiet and lack of fangirls trailing him home as he desperately [and uselessly, in the face of their immense effort] evaded them.)

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 ** _Comic relief. Shameless comic relief._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	10. Endings

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

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 **.**

 **(twins and seals, redux)**

 **.**

 **[Age - ]**

Hyuuga Hisoka and Hyuuga Hotaru were currently absorbed in the extremely interesting task of figuring out how to best disable and capture a group of hostile targets in a civilian setting while minimizing damage caused to passerby.

This resulted in much offhand bickering and absently good-natured bantering, though their eyes stayed glued to the planning paper, slender fingers twirling calligraphy pens, brows furrowed slightly in contemplation.

Their father always _did_ give very interesting homework assignments.

"Hisoka. Hotaru. Akira, Kaede, Nori, and Ryo have arrived at the gates," their Clan Head called, her cool alto carrying easily over into the courtyard they were in.

Automatically, Hisoka rolled up the paper and handed both pens to Hotaru, who dutifully sealed it away in the tattoo that they'd convinced their mother to let their aunt create.

After one of their 'uncles' had vouched for her and checked her work twice, their mother had finally consented five months ago, as a 10th birthday present for them.

"We will be heading there, Okaa-san. Uncle N promised to send us back before dinnertime," Hotaru replied, both twins' unmarked foreheads turning towards their Clan Head.

Their Clan Head sighed.

Not that she didn't have faith in his timekeeping skills, but...

Yes, she didn't have faith in his timekeeping skills.

"I'll send your father to pick you up, just in case."

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 _ **All of the names used were purposely chosen to be unisex.**_

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 _ **~Reviews are the economy, infrastructure, and government of Fanfictia. Ask not what the**_ _ **author**_ _ **can do for**_ _ **you**_ _ **, but what**_ _ **you**_ _ **can do for the**_ _ **author**_ _ **.~**_


	11. Game

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

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 **.**

 **(pick a card, any card, except for that one)**

 **.**

 **[Age 10]**

10-year-old Naruto is an ungraceful loser, but at least he's not a sore one, and he's relatively unresistant to advice on improving.

"Maybe it's not a question of how to get better at something you hate, but a question of finding something you like and can learn to love," Hinata suggests one day, after Naruto is sulking about yet another board game defeat at her hands.

He looks at her with a dull look of incomprehension in his rather pretty cerulean eyes.

He doesn't say, "Huh?", because Hinata had long ago told him that making unintelligent actions was almost undeniably a sign of unintelligence, that people would stop setting up verbal traps for him if he stopped walking into them, and that, most importantly, his voice was annoying when too loud, and became obnoxiously irritating when he made those little goofy 'does-not-compute' sounds.

Eager to please his nice new friend and older-sister figure (even if, technically, he's the older one by about two months), Naruto had tried his best to comply, and though it took some time, Hinata's eloquence and determination eventually rubbed off on him, destroying _that_ particular speech tic.

So he didn't say, "Wat.", but it's implied in the Look he presents her with.

Hinata sighs, because yes, her eloquence rubbed off on him, but apparently it hadn't rubbed off enough.

"Instead of getting upset you're losing, stop playing games like these, and go find something that you _are_ good at. Or, at least, find something you are okay at, something that you would not mind taking time to improve at," she simplifies a bit, compromising with her innate circumlocution.

Before Naruto met Hinata, he would have taken this suggestion and enthusiastically run amok with it. Driving blind, so to say.

Now, he blinked, took a second to slowly digest this particular piece of advice, and asked, "Like what, Hinata-chan?"

Naruto looks at Hinata again, and this time it's a 'look' without a capital letter, this time it's look of expectancy, expecting that of _course_ Hinata would know what to do, Hina-nee-chan was so smart and sounded really pretty, like Sakura but less likely to hit him, even if she would only call him 'Uzumaki'.

That sort of admiration is faintly flattering, naturally, and reminds Hinata even more of Hanabi.

She tells him, "In the books I have managed to find on the Uzumaki Clan, they were fairly well-known for their ungodly luck and powerful charisma, along with their short tempers, amid myriad other things-", and is considerably patient when he interrupts to ask a question, like Hanabi often does.

"What does 'myriad' mean?"

"It means 'countless', and I have discussed interruptions with you, Uzumaki," she reprimands, as gently as she can, and it's awkward and still too stern, but Naruto understands she's trying and he appreciates that no matter her social stiffness.

He knows she's trying.

She's always tried, in this hobnob friendship of theirs, her the maternal and chiding mentor, him the rough and cheerful student.

"Wait until the person is done speaking, and then ask questions, unless it holds some advantage to interrupt. Otherwise, people will angry with your lack of de-co-rum," he recites, adding, "Sorry, Hinata-chan."

Hinata nods gracefully, the grace coming easier than the gentleness, and continues, "Going with this train of thought, games requiring luck as a major factor would likely be the ones you'd excel at. We have eliminated strategy games, board games, physical games, games involving alcohol and food that isn't ramen."

A moment of mutual silence, her falling into a contemplation 'trance', him falling into a respectful quiet in order to not disrupt her again.

Despite her efforts, Hinata has not yet succeeded in learning how to snap her fingers, so she settles for merely blinking and turning to face the blond more directly.

"What about card games?"

They go out, she buys a deck of cards.

He picks up on the basics of poker with surprising astuteness.

She learns to never gamble against him, only _with_ him.

.

.

.

 _[Months Later...]_

"Eh? Where'd you learn to play cards so well, Naruto!?"

Naruto, busy cleaning out the pockets of everyone in the casino (which was next to the hotel, in the town Team 7 was staying at before heading home to Konoha with a completed mission), barely looks up when he answers his (fast-fading puppy love) crush.

"Hina-chan introduced me," he says shortly, before a wide grin spreads across his face and he smugly slams down his cards onto the poker-table, face-up and basking in triumphant glory.

"Roy. Al. _Flush_. Can you beat that?"

It's a rhetorical question; the others around the table grumble, but one look at his hitai-ate, and the two other hitai-ate wearers behind him convince them to pay up.

Naruto, smirking all the while, leans forward to rake in his winnings.

After a few seconds of flipping through them, a more than a few mental calculations with the aid of finger-counting, he stands up, and glances at his teammates, sealing the money away securely into a scroll he quickly tucks into his pack, buried among at least ten identical-looking scrolls.

"Ready to go? Kakashi-sensei's off doing randomness, isn't he? Back to the hotel, then?"

"I call the shower first!" Sakura immediately calls, quickly running off to do just that.

Then it's the two of them, leisurely walking through the sunny tourist-trap beachside town.

He's in the middle of whistling an upbeat tune and wondering if he should try teaching Hinata how to snap again, when Sasuke asks him something.

"Hmm? Sorry, what? I wasn't really listening."

Sasuke rolls his eyes but repeats, "Hyuuga taught you how to play cards?"

"If by 'Hyuuga' you mean Hina-chan, than yeah, she did. Well, kinda; she didn't really know how to play any card games either, but we were trying to find a good game for me, so she bought a deck and we sat down one weekend and figured it out. I'm actually planning to use today's winnings and maybe buy her something nice, like a souvenir. It's a thought, anyway," Naruto comments absently, now wondering what you get a Noble Clan's heavily practical Heiress as a souvenir.

Scrolls?

Books?

Hinata seems to like that sort of thing, but didn't she say she needed more shuriken last time?

Should he buy more ink and a new brush and try modifying some shuriken for her?

Oh, wait, Sasuke said something again.

"Uh, wasn't listening again. Zoned out about the souvenir. You were sayin', teme?"

The eye-roll is more prominent this time, but it's nowhere near Hinata's **Very Slight Not-Quite-Eye-Roll Eye-Sliding-Sideways of Interpretive Wordless Eloquence** ™.

"I _said_ , does she like playing cards?"

"I don't know. She pretty good at it, but it's not like she actively seeks out people to play. Don't think she cares, to be honest."

"Hn."

Wait, that 'hn' is an 'interesting-I-shall-now-deign-think-upon-this-lesser-mortal-matter'.

(Hinata is fluent in 'Uchiha-grunt' and 'Uchiha-glare', having had linguistic experience with 'Hyuuga-sneer' and 'Hyuuga-glare'.

She has, quite considerately, taught Naruto a bit of both once he and Sasuke start clashing.)

Holy fu-

"Why?" Naruto demands suspiciously, because if this is another ploy of the bastard's to steal away Hina-nee...

Because Hinata is _totally_ **his** friend first, there is _no way_ he's letting his Epic Rival win.

He pauses, the involuntary shudder of 'Gai-Trauma' slithering youthfully down his spine-

 _'Youthfully'?_

Sasuke is confused when the dobe at his side suddenly slaps himself out of nowhere, but Naruto drops the topic and all is (dysfunctionally) well again.

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 ** _The beginning of a card shark legend._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	12. Eternity

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

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 **.**

 **("forever on and on, I continue circling, with nothing but my hate and this carousel of agony")**

 **.**

 **[Age 9]**

"Neji-san."

Neji pauses in his precise Jyuuken katas, one palm thrust outwards.

He has his Byakugan on.

It is a simple matter to identify the outline and the brilliantly shining network of lights behind him as his... _cousin_ , Hinata.

"Hinata-sama," he snips tightly, punching his other hand forward and smoothly withdrawing the first, not moving his head in a blatant show of defiance.

'- _Sama_ '; hah, what a mockery of titles _this_ is.

Just a _few more minutes_ and _he'd_ be heir and _his_ father would be alive.

Admittedly, the talent gap between him and 9-year-old Hinata is rather slim, but apparently the gap between his father and _her_ father had been similarly thin, so that didn't change things a bit.

 _His father should still be_ _ **alive**_ _, not_ _ **sacrificed**_ _just because he was in the_ _ **Branch**_ _just because he was the_ _ **younger**_ _just because of those_ _ **few more minutes**_ -

Hinata was weak; he remembered that, faintly, of times before the Affair, when she'd cling to him for advice and meekly offer tokens of her adoration and burst into messy watery tears after yet another dismal training session.

Hinata _had_ been weak.

The times _following_ the Affair had changed both of them, tweaking motivations and probing ambitions and ripping out personality cores for harder, polished replacements.

Near-kidnapping scared Hinata, and she had found a steely resolve within her, aiming to improve herself, to strengthen herself.

Losing his only parental figure (having lost his nameless mother to the strains of childbirth) jaded himself, and he had found a bitter truth about the too-perfect Clan, aiming to change his own destiny, to prove a mistake had been made for condemning the superior twin to the sidelines, and later, to death.

Destiny is destiny is destiny is destiny.

Destiny is not fate.

There are shallow destinies and strong destinies; destinies are self-chosen by the actions one makes.

A stronger destiny, a stronger self making stronger actions, will always overrule a shallow destiny.

Shallowness is weakness.

The strong prevail over the weak.

That is life that is death that is a ninja that is power that is _fate_.

Fate is not destiny.

They run together in a haphazard mess, entangling and twisting and frayed at the tugged ends tugged by _willpower_ and _blind determination_ but _persisting_ and _still holding together_ because despite how frayed it is-

It is _fate_ , not destiny, and _fate is fated_.

He chafes at his seal, at the sign of superior strength, and vows to change his destiny, because _he is strong he was always strong even at 3 far before Hinata decided to try and he will have a strong destiny and_ _ **free**_ _ **fate**_ _and will either make the Main House see their errors or he'll die trying and if he dies trying he'll still die knowing that he's dragged the Main down with him and that the Branch House have tasted the sample of_ _ **rebellion**_ _of_ _ **freedom**_ _of_ _ **strength**_ _-_

(But no matter what so long as that seal is there he cannot escape that destiny even if his changes his destiny to a stronger one because there is only so much you can do when already tied to another destiny as he is and he doesn't want to think about how maybe he was fated to forever bear that cursed seal that cursed destiny that curse he can't shake with snapped words and killing blows because it is mtaphysical it s always there and not he can't breathe don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it for what good kami can do-)

'Breathe,' he reminds himself, dropped back in reality, fists clenched dangerously firm at his sides and he doesn't recall them moving and he does't recall turning to face Hinata and he doesn't recall glaring at her _past her_ through her at something he can't blame _them_ for so he blames **her** for and he doesn't recall Hinata stepping forward with a solemn face affixed.

"I would like to discuss your philosophy of fate," she monotones.

Neji wants to laugh.

He doesn't, and turns away once more.

"There is nothing to discuss; people are judged by their true nature, and their true nature was fated from the moment they were born. We are who we are, and we must live with it."

"One can improve themself, through work and drive," she notes.

"It is possible it change one's physical appearance, and to improve skills through training and study, but we are judged by what we cannot change. Born talent will trump learned skill."

"And yet, here you are, training."

"If someone naturally talented trained an hour and someone not naturally talented trained an hour, then the talented one will triumph."

"That is not an exact answer, Neji-san."

"You did not ask an exact question."

"Very well, then, I will ask you this: Are you someone who you can live with? In the future, when you look back, will you be proud, or disappointed?" she challenges.

"The only person whose opinion I would seek was my father," he coldly replies, accusation rife in his voice.

Hinata does not use the seal to punish him for his outright opposition to the Main House, because she was born _weak_ , and even if she had trained and studied, she was still _weak in spirit weak in character weak in heartmindsoul._

(He never contemplates that maybe Hinata never used the seal on him for the same reasons she never used the seal on _anyone_.

One of those reasons is Hyuuga Hisoka, a Branch House Hyuuga who died before Hinata even entered the Academy.

Neji did not know of Hisoka.)

She is silent, and for a second Neji believes he had gotten the last word in.

Then she promises, titanium in her words, "I will defeat you one day, and you will see my strength," before leaving noiselessly.

Angry without knowing why, Neji started up his katas again.

(He spent a lot of days angry without knowing why at that age.)

* * *

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 ** _Philosophy stuff._**

 ** _Like, why is it called peanut butter, if there's no actual butter put into it?_**

 ** _At least, I don't think there is..._**

 ** _The quote in the parentheses is from 'Bad Apple', a Vocaloid song that I do not own._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	13. Enthusiastic

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(beware of what you wish for; and of losing drunken bets, as you should always make your bets sober)**

 **.**

 **[Age 13]**

Kurenai thinks that her female student could use a little more enthusiasm.

So she decides to send her to Gai for a day; if that didn't do the trick, well, then what would?

Of course, she doesn't _say_ that to Hinata.

What she says goes more along the lines of:

"[apologetic tone, hands gesturing, earnest expression] I lost a bit of a wager to Gai, and he requested that we switch a student for a day. He wants me to give Lee some practice in throwing off genjutsus, and I thought that you'd appreciate some tips on improving your taijutsu, and maybe get some pointers from Gai's weapon master about your throwing techniques."

Hinata stares at her, flatly and deadpan and somehow conveying her utter lack of amusement and her intense disapproval without so much as _twitching_ her perfectly composed expression.

"You need to send away a student to collaborate with another team for a day. You realized that Kiba would most likely incite them with unintentional inflammatory comments, or purposeful taunting remarks, and thus get very quickly stomped, as well as spreading a bad reputation for you. You realized that Shino's solitary nature and curtness, added to his occasional long analytic trivial explanations, would not be a positive factor in promoting closer bonds between teams. Thus, I am chosen, being the most diplomatic of us all."

It's accusing while being utterly neutral.

Kurenai winces.

"Well, yes," she admits, because lying to Hinata usually wasn't worth the paranoid effort, and because it _was_ the truth, really.

The whole 'enthusiasm' thing is just her trying to convince herself; also, something she told Gai in an effort to get him off her back about 'repaying the extremely unyouthful debt!'.

"To be fair, it's also because you're very perceptive, and the strongest of the team. Gai does want to see you again, though, and it'll be a good opportunity for you, since I'm not as well-versed in taijutsu or bukijutsu as Gai and his student, Tenten, are," she adds, in a slightly desperate attempt to sell the idea to her.

She _can_ just make it into an official order, but that would just sour their fledgling relationship.

Hinata is particular about her decisions, and if she decides against something, she sticks to it until she changes her mind.

Hinata doesn't change her mind very often.

Luckily, Hinata already chose to agree.

"I see your point," her student concedes, folding her sleeves together and dipping her head at an angled nod.

"When am I expected, and where?" she follows up with, eyes expectant, tone brisk and business-like.

.

.

.

The next day, Hinata accompanies her cousin to his team's meeting place, and it is indescribably awkward.

"YOSH! THE LOVELY PRICKLY KURENAI HAS REQUESTED THAT I SPREAD MY FLAMES OF YOUTH TO THE HIP FROST-FLOWER SHE TEACHES!"

Gai pauses for a moment.

"That's you," Tenten kindly informs her, patting her on the back before shoving her forward like a sacrificial lamb.

"NOW LET US BEGIN THE JOURNEY TO PASSIONATE ENLIGHTENMENT!"

.

.

.

 _(-an hour later-)_

"Neji, I take back my wish for you to smile more and stop being such a frigid bitch," the weapons-user croaks in an imitation of a traumatized, wide-eyed knife-equipped panda.

Her teammate, trying vainly to wash out his eyes, risks another glance at the largely-grinning Hyuuga Heiress.

"Agreed," he shudders, plonking his head back into the river.

Their sensei, confused, looks at the pleasantly smiling (to him) Hinata, uncomprehending of his Genins' distress.

"WHAT IS WRONG, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS? DOES NOT THE HIP FROST-FLOWER APPEAR SO MUCH MORE YOUTHFUL THIS WAY?"

Hinata's lips stretch further, now passing the line of 'psychotic chainsaw-killing yandere' into 'holy fuck run like hell before Satan's spawn skewers you'.

Tenten shivers in a reflexive full-body shudder and can't help jumping into the river.

"I appreciated your lessons, Gai-sensei. They were very helpful," Hinata thanks him.

She now knows exactly how to freak out basically everyone except Gai and Lee.

This is... very good information.

 _(Revenge for everyone who mocked her inability to finger-snap.)_

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 ** _More comic relief._**

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 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	14. AU: Answers

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(tenten knows neji's weak points far too well, that devilish woman)**

 **.**

 **[Age 17]**

(MagicSchool!AU)

" _Must_ we continue forth with this odious task?" Hyuuga Neji, robed in elegantly minimalist beige robes, sighed with a long-suffering look.

Tenten, his (best) friend, and also the one dragging him down the starkly clean stone hallway, rolled her eyes with another (unseen) long-suffering look.

She herself was dressed in a very practical ensemble of a white vaguely Chinese top and the classic 'ninja pants' of Elemental 5 Academy, in a suitably muted red.

Elemental 5 Academy, _the_ Japanese Magic School of choice, was actually formed of five different schools situated on five different islands, all relatively close in proximity to each other, and all cloaked heavily under the best (diabolical and evil and cunning and _genius_ ) protections that the ninja masterminds behind E5A's creation could brainstorm up.

Japanese wizards typically had their magic attuned to an elemental affinity, or more than one if they were lucky with the genetic potluck.

They also tended to have unique slang terms for their way of life, although that was the same for all the other countries' wizards.

Japanese wizards really didn't even refer to themselves as 'wizards' or 'witches' or 'sorceress/sorcerer' unless on a diplomatic formality; they defined themselves as 'ninja' (shinobi/kunoichi instead of wizard/witch), albeit ones who have adapted to modern times relatively well.

Survival of their culture had always been a priority, and when survival comes into question, people are surprisingly good at incorporating them they'd think.

"Yes, Neji, _kami_ yes we must. If you're going to complain so much, why'd you agree to come to today's party, anyway? I thought you hated Sasuke."

"The Uchiha is unworthy of Hinata-sama's attentions; it is blatantly obvious that he will begin courting her soon, and the other Hyuuga will not stand for it."

"Still spouting that anti-Uchiha propaganda? Man, I'm not sure how much of that you believe, and how much of that is just because you care about Hinata. Aww, feeling a bit like an overprotective brother now? And that doesn't answer the question, by the way. I've hung around Ino for the past 5 years, and I've known you and Hinata since we were 12 and she was 11. I have experience in pushing questions and recognizing deflections, trust me."

"..."

Growling, and sounding far too alike to Inuzuka Kiba for his comfort, his admittedly panda-esque brunette friend paused and half-twisted, just enough to show a threatening glimpse of five shuriken splayed between the fingers on the hand not holding his arm in a vice-grip.

"..."

"Oh, don't give me more of that haughty stoic and unfairly expressive Hyuuga silence! Do I have to go and get _Lee_ to help me... _convince_ you to explain? I'm sure Gai-sensei would find it a friendship-bonding activity full of ' _youthfulness_ '."

Oh, but she was _evil._

Well-played, Tenten.

Well. Played.

"... I only agreed to come because Naruto would undoubtedly start ragging on me again for not attending his best friend's 17th birthday party. Who, by the way, I do not understand how he decided to become best friends with the same person who tried to kill him a year and a half ago."

Tenten could only shrug awkwardly in response, tucking away her beloved blades.

"Erm... who knows how Team 7 thinks? They're all dysfunctional. _We're_ all dysfunctional. We're _ninja._ "

The disbelief was implied in the flat and heavy silence that followed.

Luckily, Tenten had started moving again as soon as Neji had begun his reply, so the silence had only stretched yawningly for about fifteen seconds before they'd reached their destination.

The Barracks.

(Yes, capitalized.)

Everyone under the crazyhouse roof known as Konoha (Official Name: Elemental 5 Academy's Fire School Amid the Leaves) was housed in The Barracks.

There were, to be accurate, three housing sections under the widespread 'The Barracks' banner.

'Genin Barracks', for the D-Rank and below ninja.

'Chuunin Barracks', for the C-Rank and B-Rank ninja.

'Jounin Barracks', for the A-Rank and S-Rank ninja.

Rank graduation tests were administered bi-yearly, missions and training were daily, with some teachers being more thorough than others.

E5A's motto?

'Learn pain, love pain, live pain.'

Pein, a well-known and superbly-talented S-Rank teacher assistant who spent two months at each School and traveled for two months per year, had to briefly put up with a lot of ribbing and horrible puns.

('Brief', because then he Rinnegan'd the next offender through a stone wall and thus caused them to fall off a conveniently placed cliff into a conveniently located steep sea dive.

Don't worry, they lived; the shark fins were just Hoshigaki Kisame's shark summons out for a swim, and had, with considerable generosity, cut their swim short in order to rescue the unfortunate person.)

His adoptive sister, Konan, half-brother, Uzumaki Nagato, and other half-brother, Yahiko, were all quietly amused by his plight.

(Pein's parents were Nagato's father and Yahiko's mother, which is why he got the Rinnegan and the orange hair. The serious attitude is, as Yahiko jokes, completely from Nagato's side of the family.)

Which is all beside the point.

Without further ado, Tenten bit her thumb and smeared it across the identification seals carved into the super-deluxe-ultra-grand-master-champion-heavy-duty reinforced steel-iron-titanium-granite doors that were probably a foot thick and weighed more than five hundred pounds each.

(Nevertheless, even with the new flame-proof water-proof rubber-insulation oil-proof mended-with-scrap-metal and slathered-with-old-poisons [dubious] safety measures, The Barracks' doors [any three sets of them] never lasted more than a month without some sort of grievous damage harming it beyond repair or salvageability. More often than not, the grievous damage came from an explosion of some sort.)

They creaked open with appropriate melodrama, like an arthritic senior-senior-great-grand-citizen straining and wheezing and groaning with rattling bones and a flimsy cane.

(Haruno Sakura, Headmistress Senju's second apprentice, widely acknowledged as the best person you should go to for academic tutoring and healing, and the most likely one to read foreign myths, had named the gates' effect as the 'Sisyphus sonata'. Everyone else duly interpreted this as the 'sissy gates'.)

Tenten and Neji entered the Jounin Barracks.

.

.

.

"So! We all here? Role call, Forehead-girl!" Yamanaka Ino, of the famed mindwalker Clan bloodline (the approximate equal of a Pureblood with a family gift of Occlumency and Legilimency, although much more complex) ordered magnanimously, imperiously perched on an ornately gilded throne (most likely Alchemized/Transmuted [Transfigured]) and dressed in a rather short but undeniably pretty kimono.

The rest of the 'Konoha 12', as their generation's cluster of teams had been nicknamed, were sitting on the plain wooden floor in various states of relaxation.

Sakura, sitting in her regular clothes cross-legged next to her in a summoned armchair, rolled her eyes, but obediently listed off the names by memory, finding no need to waste any of her precious stationary on this task.

"Ino's here, I'm here. That's two. Shikamaru?"

"Troublesome," Nara Shikamaru (the Nara were the only ones with a shadow elemental affinity, as a result of their own bloodline) muttered from his spread-eagled position, staring up at the ceiling and finding it too much of a drag to create a similar seating, his clothes unchanged.

"Three. Choji?"

"Crnch, crnch, mm-hmm, I'm here," Akimichi Choji (the Akimichi were masters at revolutionizing the forms of potions/pills and coaxing even more efficiency out of their personal blends) crunched steadily through his favorite flavor of chips, leaning comfortably back on a unsealed recliner, with his usual outfit.

"Four. Tenten?"

"Yup!" she chirped cheerily, nudging her sulking teammate; they were sharing a conjured cabana, charmed to float a few inches off the floor.

"Five. Neji?"

"Here," he bit out curtly, busy suspiciously eyeing the dark-haired teen next to his cousin.

"Six. Lee?"

"I AM HERE MY BEAUTIFUL FRAGANT CHERRY BLOSSOM!" he roared, eyes glittering and eyebrows bushy-ing, simply sitting on the floor in his signature green suit and orange legwarmers.

(Well, he was actually doing sit-ups on the floor, but that's basically the same thing. Lee's chakra coils ['magic system'] had been unable to push externally, but he had still made it into Elemental 5 Academy by having the taijutsu teacher Gai Maito vouch for him as his very own apprentice, securing a taijutsu scholarship for him.)

"S-Seven. Naruto?"

"Here, Sakura-chan!" he chirped even more cheerily than Tenten had, unable to resist bouncing restlessly on his self-created, very own bubble sphere, the soapy swirling effect distorting the orange of his tracksuit.

(As the greatest sealsmaster of his generation, adding a few expansion and stabilizing and force-field and protection and durability and friction seals onto a bubble wand had merely been his pet project for an especially boring Saturday.)

"Eight. Sasuke?"

"Hn," he sniffed, sitting stiffly in his summoned high-backed armchair, stately in his midnight-blue simplistic robes, and accepting a proffered cup of heliotrope tea from his neighbor.

"Nine. Hinata?"

"It is lovely to be here today," she answered courteously, kneeling in a precise seiza position on her transmuted and charmed floating tatami mat, regal in her understated mauve kimono, pouring a cup of tea for herself from the circular table levitating between them.

(Ino had put her in charge of keeping the party refreshments safe, as she was the best in putting up barriers and constructing offensive shields. Thus, the large dining table behind her, laden with food and enclosed by a rectangle of faintly shimmering wards.)

"Ten. Kiba?"

"And Akamaru!" he reminded her, grinning widely as he sat cross-legged on his conjured shell-chair, Akamaru in another shell-chair next to him, both of them unabashedly eyeing the warded refreshments.

"Akamaru is implied when I say Kiba. Eleven. Shino?"

"Last again," he murmured softly, falling silent on his transmuted wooden chair, having nothing more to say on the topic.

(Inwardly, he wondered if anyone would have notice him not coming.)

"Twelve. Sai's doing rehab with another Yamanaka, so he's not here. Alright, that's twelve, you crazy Ino-pig. What now?"

Ino conjured a foam ball and threw it at Sakura, the chakra construct fizzling out after Sakura reflexively punched it.

Disgruntled, the blond party hostess pretended she didn't see that and continued, a familiar mischief-making gleam in her eye.

"As tradition dictates, to celebrate Sasuke's birthday, we are going to play Truth or Dare, Veritaserum edition!"

"It's my birthday and I never agreed to any of this," Sasuke said, before being summarily ignored through ease of long practice.

"What tradition?" Shikamaru grumbled.

He didn't bother dodging the foam ball that bounced off his head and fizzled out after hitting the wall behind him.

"Did you sneak out Veritaserum from T & I again? The Transmutation and Iryo-nin specialists are going to ruthless if they find out," Sakura warned.

She received a dismissive hand-flap-wave-thingy-gesture for her efforts.

"So! Who's in?"

Nearly everyone started standing up to head for the door.

"I'm sorry, did I forget to mention to none of you will get the refreshments if you leave? Think of the tomatoes, the onigiri, the ramen, the cake, the mochi, the ice cream, the cinnamon rolls and wild grass salads and who knows what else?"

Some hesitated.

Smirking devilishly, Ino delivered the final blow.

"Everything was made or raised by Mrs. Akimichi, and then kitchens just so happen to be under renovation today."

Sasuke appeared to be the only one left standing.

"Oh, and as for you, Itachi agreed to help bind you if need be."

He grudgingly skulked back to his chair, sulking ( _brooding,_ he insisted, not 'main-pain angsting' like Naruto declares).

Hinata sympathetically offered him another cup of tea and a perfectly symmetrical tomato, in the commiserating fashion of the only sane people among madmen (and madwomen, in the interest of politically correct gender neutrality).

(Ino had bribed her to keep the wards up around the refreshment table beforehand, by sharing her plot and guaranteeing her a free-pass for one of the turns.)

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 ** _To be continued. Eventually._**

 ** _So feel free to review-in with any questions, and if you want me to do a Triwizard (Quadwizard?) crossover extension to this mini-universe._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	15. Hum

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

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 **.**

 **(you should all be very glad that hinata isn't in danger of snapping)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

Hinata can't snap.

She can carry a tune, she can hum in-pitch, she can even whistle with a very thin margin of error.

Hinata can't snap.

This fact irritates her far more than she'd reluctantly admit.

Hinata can't snap.

No matter what she tries, no matter how many times Naruto tries to teach her, no matter how many times Sasuke glances at her with that thinly-veiled confusion (everything about Sasuke is thinly veiled, truly, because he is far too prone to losing his temper in fits of irrationally extreme emotion that Hinata does not understand completely), no matter how many times Kiba or Shino or _Sakura_ demonstrate-

Hinata can't snap.

It is... frustrating, beyond merely _mildly_ vexing, and more than a bit embarrassing, because she had so many _plans_ and _ideas_ about it, too, like a time-triggering jutsu that activates that a snap, or is set up with a snap, or is a simple distraction of flashy, dazzling elemental 'sparks', or a blinding jutsu based off of that.

Hinata can't snap.

She finds some measure of guilty solace in the fact that _Hanabi_ can't snap, either, although that measure is often overrun by plain annoyance whenever Neji snaps, and at this point she is fairly certain that he does it on purpose.

Hinata can't snap.

Her team attempted to cheer her up after learning of her minor ( _very_ minor, she insists) fixation, pointing out that it isn't really important, confessing that it's reassuring to find she has flaws, saying that it makes her more human if she isn't accomplished in everywhere.

Hinata can't snap.

Those attempts simply aggravated her even further; what, was she not human before?

Hinata can't snap.

Also, it's easy for _them_ to say that, those _finger-snapping finger-snappers_.

Hinata can't snap.

As most things do, her heat eventually cooled down, and she moved on, accepting her defeat in the art of snapping with as much dignified grace as she can muster.

Hinata can't snap.

That 'dignified grace' consists of her dropping the subject entirely, refusing to rise up to her team's quieries on the matter, and stonily staring at them blankly whenever Kiba persists gleefully (because only Kiba is that persistent on her team).

Hinata can't snap.

But when Team 7, 8, 9, and 10 all gathered for a group dinner at some trendy new Western-specializing place, at the behest of their conspiring instructors, and Neji raises his hand and effortlessly snaps his fingers to signal the waiter and _smirks_ at her with that faint _smirk_ , Hinata simmers and struggles to remain calm, glaring an iced-over nastily-poisoned artillery of figurative deadly-weaponry at him.

Hinata can't snap.

But she can pack a wallop of a punch, a skill she graciously demonstrates the next Wednesday during sparring, after Kiba brought up the incident as a battlefield taunt.

Hinata can't snap.

And Kiba couldn't either for a straight week afterwards, as Kurenai had forced him to let his hand heal naturally, as a lesson in not provoking enemies they can't defeat.

So Hinata is satisfied, Kiba is sulky, Kurenai is educational, and Shino is quietly smirking.

(On the inside, of course, because his female teammate had recently developed an alarming tendency of reacting violently to anyone smirking.

Ah, ninja puberty.

Alternatively known as, 'that period of time when shinobi are suddenly clumsy and two feet taller and even more socially awkward than usual, and when kunoichi are suddenly _curvy_ and wildly emotional and even more aggressively dominant than usual, and when all Jounin-instructors clump together at the bar for discounted alcohol'.

Then again, Hinata was always curvier than the other girls in their age group, even when they were still Academy students-

Shino abruptly cut off that thought with horror.

Oh _kami_ , snickering at his teammates' puberty issues was _one_ thing, but experiencing them himself was _another_.)

(Off in the distance, Kurenai snickered at _all_ of her adorable Genin brats' puberty issues.

It's so much funnier when it happens to someone else, although she knew _she'd_ have to be the one dealing with _them_ dealing with _their_ issues soon.

Was Asuma still up with that offer for drinks?)

All this coming from Hinata's inability to snap.

She did, however, produce a chakra trick in the future that could replicate the sound of a finger-snap, and shamelessly spent the entire day snapping her fingers at all of her comrades-in-arms.

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 ** _This was referenced in 'Enthusiastic'._**

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 ** _-Review.-_**


	16. AU: Gunshot

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(curses at stupidity occur, with just cause)**

 **.**

 **[Age 20]**

(Mafia!AU)

"You're a goddamned idiot, you know that, Uchiha? You're a cocky, smug, insufferable, _goddamned_ _ **idiot**_ who _wanders off_ and gets his _sorry little_ _ass_ handed to him. Oh, yeah, and let's not forget how he then _wanders back_ with a _bullet_ in his _chest_ and leaking _gallons_ of _blood_. What, you expect me to patch you up every single time?"

Sasuke, the 'Uchiha' in question, is indeed leaking blood, although to say _gallons_ of it would be a bit of over-exaggeration.

Nevertheless, it's probably enough to send him into hysteria.

At least, that's his private excuse for ever finding the way Hinata flushes an angry pink, nebulous eyes shining in feverish fury, and lips pressed thin in veiled anxiety, _cute._

Because surely he _has_ to be _crazy_ before he starts thinking that the snappish she-demon, icy and violent even in their (forced) shared childhood, is remotely attractive, right?

(Grudgingly, he can admit that, to most of the general public, Hinata _is_ considered as classically beautiful and gorgeous as, well, _him_.)

His smart-mouth moves on auto, snarking, "In our profession, we're all damned by god. And when'd you start cussing so much? Picked it up from that pal Hidan?"

And it's true.

When you're in a _crime family-_

Hinata barely looks at him, simply pinching him hard in the back of his neck, and action Sasuke can't counter with his current, wounded, sluggish body.

He blacks out on a freezing steel gurney.

.

.

.

He wakes up on a stiff hospital bed, an orderly, color-coded mass of wires and drips and IVs hooked up to him, and winces at the pain from his neck, which Hinata had just pinched again to rouse him.

"You're fucking lucky that the Hyuuga always have at least a security squad patrolling and a well-stocked infirmary in every base. Anyway, they're out on a raid right now, so since you decided to stumble into _this_ particular base, you have the honor of _me_ being your medic, because it's not like any of the security goons can leave their post. Plus, they can't tell a stitch from a suture, which frankly bothers me more than them leaving a potential gap in security."

Ah, yes.

The Hyuuga.

A former rival Famiglia of the Uchiha, specializing in security, medicine, and churning out martial-arts prodigies skilled at the art of stabbing pressure points until they die, thanks to their freaky white eyes (though not as freaky as the Uchiha's even more infamous red-and-black eyes), until a recent alliance nearly two decades ago cemented their places at the top of the Mafia ladder.

(The Uchiha specialize in security, weaponry, and churning out eidetic-memory prodigies skilled in the art of setting things on fire until they die.

The _Yamanaka_ branch of the Uchiha Famiglia is the one specializing in capture, interrogation, and churning out people-charming prodigies skilled in the art of mindfucking people until they die, with their less-freaky pupiless blue eyes, though many mistake the _Uchiha_ to be the mindfuckers, since they have their unfairly strong illusions and subconscious hypnotization.

But no.

The Uchiha are just a bunch of pyromaniacs who pretend to be severe disciplinarians who abhor sunshine and ban joy and are soulless husks devoid of any concept of happiness.

It makes them seem cooler and more kuudere than a bunch of people cackling madly over a corpse on fire.)

Of course, there are always those upstart little gangs and those idealistic law-enforcers to keep an eye and a gun-scope on, so life's not all gold and diamonds and billion-dollar wine.

It's agony to simply croak out, "Sakura?", when every nerve end in his body feels numb and buzzing, marinated in a stew of pure _pain_.

Huh, he's not normally this eloquent in his head.

Or, uh, outside his head.

Must be whatever painkillers she's drowned his neurons in.

"Deployed to another base to bail out Naruto; he was accused of cheating in another Famiglia's casino (thanks to his unfairly divinely good luck), he got mad when they tried to, ahem, separate him and his winnings by force, long story short, the you-know-what started manifesting and he killed a bunch of guys and now he's trying to lay low at Shikamaru's. Sakura needs to run interference, make sure to hush the whole thing up, and either placate or absorb them. Probably absorb, they sent Neji with her," she mutters absently, clicking open a matte-chrome pen (a pen that he knows is capable of doubling as a high-intensity laser) to scribble away on the clipboard she's holding, an all-business look that clashed with her snazzy, pristine black-and-white-and-heliotrope lady-suit and black slingback wedge-heels, long blue-black tresses gathered into an elaborate bun.

(It's not really _scribbling_ , per say, because Hinata's handwriting is a languid, loopy, lovely thing to behold, all curved lines and swift dashes and a crisp, 'I-look-down-on-you-and-your-not-as-fabulous-handwriting' presentation.

So it's more of an elegant ' _scrawl_ ' at _most_ , not a messy ' _scribble_ '.

He is just petulant enough to not concede that she has better handwriting than he does: cursive, shorthand, plain, inkwell, quill, brush, pencil, whatever and whichever way.)

Sasuke tries to glare at the suit, fails because he can't move his head properly, and settles for mentally glaring at it.

Damn it all, how does _she_ manage to keep her 5-digit pricetag suit in mint condition, while _his_ is all ruined?

Okaa-san is going to kill him, then resurrect him, then murder him, then revive him, then slaughter him, then regenerate him, then slice him slowly to pieces with a butter knife and set each one individually on fire.

A _plastic_ _blunted_ butter knife with traces of _actual butter_ left.

And meanwhile, smug little Itachi will be standing in the corner with his smug little face smirking that smug little smirk.

God, how he _hates_ him.

Itachi's goal in life is to make Sasuke as miserable as possible, and for the most part, his plans work.

Sasuke isn't exactly sure _how_ Itachi has been responsible for ruining his suit, but it is _definitely_ Itachi.

It is _always_ Itachi.

"If you want your suit to be fine next time, then make sure there _isn't_ a next time. Suits tend to get ripped when one runs recklessly into ambush and a line of fire because they _didn't listen_ to the mission briefer. And stop blaming your brother for everything, that's just being petty."

What?

"Yes, you were saying all that aloud. Woozy from the painkillers. You're drugged up to what tiny gray cells you have left. That's your brain, by the way."

But he is thinking in perfect clarity ... he thinks ... and he thinks that that is supposed to be an insult ... ?

"Well, then, whatever comes out of your mouth sure isn't in the same clarity. Hold still, I need to extract the bullet, concentrate on something else. Or don't."

Okay, so it isn't Itachi this time.

This time, Sasuke decides that is is definitely Naruto's fault.

If that dobe hadn't gone off and made a fool of himself and had to hide out at neutral info-dealer Shikamaru's place, then Sakura wouldn't have had to go save his ass, and then _she'd_ be the one healing him and not Hinata, whose bedside manner really, _really_ sucked, and-

" _Oh?_ "

Something feels vaguely tighter around his ribs, barely poking through the general 'warm-gooey-eurgh' of the numbing medication.

"So _ungrateful_ ," she snipes with a carefully strained reservation, but the sound seems far away, miles away from next to his head, his dazed and subtly sleepy head.

'Crapcrapcrap,' he thinks, making a titanic effort to reduce the faint babble in his head back to coherent words.

They go something like: 'Holy fuck I should _not_ have said that even if I thought I'd just thought it because they could be taken the wrong way and the last thing I want is an angry Hinata when she's in charge of my life even if she probably wouldn't let me diie because she's my-'

"You were saying all that aloud again, _fiancé_. I won't let you _die_ , naturally; that would kind of sour the arranged-marriage for the nearly two-decade Hyuuga-Uchiha alliance, wouldn't it? But the next time you fucking _ditch_ me in the middle of a _dinner date_ for some shitty _mission_ you con- _fucking_ -viently _forget_ to tell me about until you just _bolted_ 3/4 through, well... Well, telling you would ruin the fun, fun, _fun_ surprises, would they not? Rest assured, _Saucey_ -honey, this _humorous_ anecdote will be going _straight_ to Mikoto, and then _Hanabi_ and _Neji_ and, hell, why not? _Itachi_ and _Naruto_ and _Sakura_ and _everyone we know_..."

An extreme sense of horrifying, impeding paranoia and doom descends heavily upon him.

Okaa-san will have no mercy; she is utterly devoted and delighted by the idea of having a daughter-in-law to dote on, especially one who 'can't change her mind because of your social awkwardness', and especially especially Hinata, who she finds a 'charming, simply charming girl'.

Hanabi has hated him from the get-go; Sasuke is half-convinced she rose from her crib with the fires of hatred stoked and ready to confront the one about to 'take my Nee-chan away from me'. She finds _everyone_ to be 'unfit for my Nee-chan, since she's too awesome for anyone!', and that _doubly_ includes him. He has once seen her burning a voodoo doll that looked incredibly like him, so Uchiha-like is her love for fire.

Neji is the classic over-protective brother. Itachi is the classic make-his-life-hell brother. Naruto is the classic overprotective annoying friend. Sakura is the classic opinionated scary friend.

 _Ohmaigai I'm gonna die._

"Although I find it amusing as to how you are praying to _Gai_ of all people, this much terror might be negative for your recovery. We'll have to wait until _after_ you're well again in order to torture you, so _relax_ a bit. Though if you _dare_ to pull that same stunt on our _wedding_ -"

He doesn't relax, partly because he's still paralyzed.

A sigh.

"Can't believe I forgot that. Ah, well. _Relax_."

His neck throbs again, a piteous wail for mercy, and he blacks out once more, to the blurry sight of his fiancée smiling shyly at her delicate engagement ring of moonstones and amethysts and linked-together titanium, her entire body softening in this moment of vulnerability, safe in her assumption of him already being knocked out.

 _Cute._

 _(Terrifying, but cute.)_

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _A Mafia!verse, because I love those things._**

 ** _Yay for a Hidan and Hinata friendship; I've read a few very well-written one-shots about that, actually, with him giving her confidence and getting her out of her shell._**

 ** _... Okay, more like I've read two, maybe three well-written one-shots, but they were very good._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	17. Human

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(people are mortal, they can't wait forever)**

 **.**

 **[Age ? ]**

Hinata stared, for an uncomfortably long, silent, drawn-out moment, at the dark figure standing nonchalantly in front of the Hyuuga Compound gates, one of which she was holding open.

She had ordered the normal gateguards to clear off in order to give them a bit of privacy.

To be honest, she was already starting to question that decision.

Both decisions, really.

"..." the impassive Hyuuga Heiress not-said.

"..." the impassive last Uchiha (for real this time) and (technical) Clan Head not-said.

After a full five minutes of noiseless confrontation, the traitor-turned-ally-turned-traitor-turned-ally-times-fifty shifted his foot marginally.

Abruptly turning away, Hinata loosed her grasp, letting the gate clang shut and auto-lock.

'This was an idiotic idea,' she decided, 'and I highly suspect that Naruto was heavily responsible for most of it.'

"Hinata-" Sasuke began in a dispassionate monotone.

She ignored him and left, burrowing deeper into the Compound before she could say something impulsive in a fit of fury.

The irony of how _she_ had been the dispassionate one and _he_ had been the furious one did not escape her.

They were all children back then.

So young, too young.

War changes more than anyone'd prefer.

It's only human to feel differently than before, right?

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Hinata's legitimately most likely reaction to this sort of situation; at least, Academia!Hinata's most likely reaction._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	18. Shadows

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different? [AU] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's_ _120_ _% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(go with the flow)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

She is going to lose soon, she knows she is going to lose soon.

(But that's not the point.)

In the room Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

He feels the cool wooden boards, he is placing down a silver general.

(But that's not the point.)

A lively house's quietest hallway branches off in the room Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

It is hosting a birthday party, it has happily laughing young guests.

(But that's not the point.)

The Nara Compound contains a lively house, whose quietest hallway branches off in the room Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

Nara live in the Nara Compound, Nara die in the Nara Compound.

(But that's not the point.)

Forestland and streams border the Nara Compound, which contains a lively house, whose quietest hallway branches off in the room Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

Deer dance around thickly hushed foliage, shadows prance amid thickly cast branches.

(But that's not the point.)

Konohagakure hold forestland and streams, which border the Nara Compound, which contains a lively house, whose quietest hallway branches off in the room Shikamaru and Hinata are playing Shogi.

Civilians chatter and smile, ninjas cut and smirk.

(But that's not the point.

Sometimes there isn't much point.

Sometimes the Nara Head's wife will decide to throw a birthday party for her newly-Chuunin lazy-as-ever son.

Sometimes that newly-Chuunin lazy-as-ever son will decide to play a quieter game of Shogi instead of 'mingling' with his 'too troublesome and too noisy' friends gathered downstairs.

Sometimes another newly-Chuunin driven-as-ever kunoichi will be the only one out of his 'too troublesome and too noisy' friends gathered downstairs who knows how to play the quieter game of Shogi.

Sometimes it's just two friends playing a quiet game, in a quiet room, in a loud house, in a languid Compound, next to a shy forest, in an orderly village.

Everything has a point; not everything has a point worth delving deep to see.)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Because sometimes, there is no cryptic meaning._**

 ** _Stuff happens, and then you die._**

 ** _#  
#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	19. Moment

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(he doesn't understand yet, but he will; kakashi will make sure of it)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

"Physically, killing is probably the easiest thing in the world to a ninja. Mentally, it's very likely one of the worst. I'm not saying that it's not essential to protecting Konoha... but each time you kill, it takes something away from you. Maybe it's a small thing: Embittering, disillusioning, deadening. Maybe it's a big thing: humanity, empathy, mercy. Those are important concepts, vital concepts, the concepts that make us human. I won't ever tell you that it gets better, because frankly, it doesn't and it shouldn't and if you really begin to think that way, then you're not the type of person I'd tell anything to anymore."

Kakashi's lone eye drilled deep into Sasuke, haunted and murky and _dark_.

Dark with regret.

Not for the first time, Sasuke wondered how his sensei's other eye had been replaced with a Sharingan.

"Think about that, every time you find yourself thinking about killing your brother, and about what lengths you'll go to to achieve that goal."

"He's not my brother-", he reflexively began protesting.

"He _is_ , and deluding yourself will not help you a bit," Kakashi cut him off sharply, strongly, "It's not up to me to decide your life for you, and if you choose to continue on that path, that's your choice and you've made it. Just keep in mind that I am a Jounin of the Leaf, first and foremost, that you are a shinobi of the Leaf, first and foremost, that _all of your peers_ are ninja of the Leaf, first. And. _Foremost_. **Do you know what that means?** "

As his voice thundered over his student, low and dangerous and growled with intensity that was reflected in what was visible of his gaze, his student stayed mute.

"I said, _do you know what that means?_ "

It was clear by Kakashi's humorless tone that he will not repeat himself a third time, and Sasuke managed to shake his head minutely, straining against the ( _ **aSh**_ _MaRrOw_ StONe _bOnE_ _ **GliStEN**_ _bLoOd_ cArVe _FLesH_ _ **buRn**_ _hAiR_ StAB _eYe_ _ **uSeLeSS**_ _HoPElESs_ cHilL _CoOL_ _ **cOlD**_ _frEEzE_ pArALyzE SUFFOCATE) barrage of needle-thin condensed Killing Intent, carefully focused for a reason.

"It means that if you ever stop being a shinobi of the Leaf, we will be the ones sent after you."

In a startling contrast to his former pitch, the Copy-Nin's words were pleasantly stated in an almost amiable matter.

 _'Almost amiable,'_ because Sasuke could still remember the Killing Intent vividly, even if all traces of it had been wiped out in a matter of milliseconds.

 _This is the control of a Jounin_ , he was meant to learn.

Sasuke nodded unsurely.

It seems to be what his sensei was waiting for, because Kakashi smiles with that reassuringly familiar and ( _nauseatingly pleasant, so pleasant, smile smile smile pleasant smile smile smile kill_ ) eye-crinkle of his, and one of his hands lands firmly on Sasuke's head, steering him out of the woods that they'd ended up in.

"Great, great, lovely to see that you understand, Sassy-chan. We'd better get going before Narky-chan gets all sulky about us missing the team lunch, and Pinky pummels him for that. They might charge me for any property damage, and I'm running out of places to eat without getting banned."

Sasuke stared at his hands the entire way to the barbeque place he never bothered to learn the name of.

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _He gets a warning._**

 ** _Whether or not he heeds it..._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	20. AU: Reflected

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(in a mostly peaceful world, Team 7 still manages to look for trouble)**

 **.**

 **[Age 16]**

[RTN!AU]

"No."

"C'mon, it'll be so _coooool!_ "

"No."

"I mean, _Sakura's_ not saying anything against it!"

"You are both imbecilic fools and I am not responsible for whatever you two decide. In fact, I'm only here right now, because the other option is to join Kakashi-sensei in 'fanning the flames of his youth'. Which is just... not an option."

" _See!?_ See that, that right there? _Totally_ not something against it."

"No."

"Is that _all_ you can say now?"

" _Hell_ no. Fuck _off_."

After a beat, he added, " _Moron_."

Sasuke scowled (awesomely) at (stupidhead) Menma and sniffed (awesomely), turning away (awesomely) to scan (awesomely) over the (not-as-awesome-as-him-but-pretty-darn-close) scroll.

"But it'll definitely work! I mean, ordinarily I'd say that summoning an alternate version of a human from another dimension would be idiotic beyond reason and would never work, but this jutsu summons an alternate to replace the original, who is shoved off to pocket dimension and kept unconscious, thus preventing any huge consequences from the original messing with the alternate's world. And we, as the summoners, would be the ones preventing the alternate from messing with the original's world. Besides, it's an _alternate._ Specifically, an alternate from a flipped world. Meaning, we'd see the complete opposite of the original, or at least see their one of their primary traits reversed. Isn't there _anyone_ who you want to see acting completely different? Who you'd like to get rid of for, say, a day?" he wheedled hopefully.

Menma narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, but looked closer at the jutsu, with was really just one big fuuinjutsu seal.

It did, indeed, state everything that Sasuke had just said, including, 'after 24 hours are up, the alternate will be summoned back to their world with no time passed, and they will forget any memories of the summoner's world; the original will be retrieved back to the summoner's world, and will not remember any time passing'.

His teammate was usually a flirty moron, but he _was_ their jutsu (ninjutsu/genjutsu/iryojutsu/bukkijutsu) [infiltration/seduction] expert (Menma was the chakra-powerhouse manipulator [with the power of the **Glare** ], Sakura was the taijutsu/strategics master [also a natural leader, if only Menma would stop challenging her for the position]), and was pretty smart when he wanted to be.

If he said the jutsu would work, it would probably work, and Menma had spent enough time around his seal-obsessed parents to pick out some basic time-space components in the intricate design etched onto the scroll with what seemed like a dried blood-ink mixture.

All you needed was a sample of the original's blood, a sample of their chakra, and their explicitly given consent.

And it _would_ be nice to get rid of his resident stalker for a while...

"Can we swap out Hinata?" he abruptly asked.

Sasuke beamed at the implied- _yes_ , with honest-to-goodness _flowers and sparkles_ shining from behind him like a _halo_ , reminding Menma of _why_ , again, he tried to avoid making Sasuke remotely happy.

Sakura groaned despondently and began muttering darkly under her breath about ominous outcomes as she reluctantly trailed after them, which went ignored by her teammates, who were used to her paranoid conspiracy-theorist ways.

They exited the conveniently-placed mountain-caves on Uchiha-owned land, which they had been excavating in vague hopes of finding something not-boring to entertain themselves with, and headed for Konohagakure's busy streets.

Searching for Hinata was unneeded, because sooner or later the Menma-obsessed Hyuuga would find _them_.

(Sakura now began muttering darkly under her breath about her future injuries.)

As luck would have it, the sparingly-dressed kunoichi pounced upon them within a minute of them stepping foot onto the dirt-paved roads.

"Menma!" she cooed, her arms a vice-grip pinning down his arms.

Then Hinata noticed Sasuke, and glared at him with the seallessly activated Byakugan, growling, "Fuck off, manslut."

When she noticed Sakura, she also hissed, " _Hands_ off, fucking man-stealing bitch."

Sakura raised her hands in surrender and slowly backed away.

Sasuke, on the other hand, stepped forward with his most charming grin, cloaking his nervousness at approaching the most terrifying kunoichi in Konoha (except for Shizune, who everybody knew was the _real_ ruler).

Menma sighed, and twisted around his head to play his part.

"Oy, Hinata, I need your help with a jutsu," he droned boredly.

Delighted, the probably-bipolar definite-yandere smiled.

"Anything for you, Menma," she promised.

"Great, great. See that scroll the moron's holding open? Drip some blood onto the seal, channel some chakra into it. Oh, and turn off your Byakugan; it might interfere with it."

Hinata was dangerously obsessed, not _brainless_.

Jutsus needing blood weren't usually very good news, especially for the one whose blood was used.

She frowned, staring hard at her love.

"What kind of a jutsu _is_ this?" she slowly said, suspicious.

"An experimental one. Also, Menma said he'd definitely go out with a girl who was willing to test an experimental jutsu," Sasuke inputted.

"Done," she quickly agreed, closing her Byakugan, leaning forward to bite her thumb and spit the blood onto the paper, where it was promptly soaked up.

Half of the seal lit up.

Pressing a hand to the paper, she then channeled a spurt of chakra into the rest of the seal.

Because her Byakugan was off, Hinata never noticed Sasuke making one-handed seals behind his back.

She did glimpse the last one being made as the entire seal glowed blue, but Sasuke's hand-seal speed was the best out of their generation, and it was too late for her to anything except attempt to fling herself away from Menma, who was gripping her arms in a reverse-twist maneuver.

"Uch-" she snarled with hatred, before poofing into the typical summoning smoke.

.

.

.

Sasuke watched with interest as another form materialized.

(Even Sakura tentatively crept forward a bit, still ready to leap away in case this Hinata was as possessive as theirs.)

Alt!Hinata, much more conservatively dressed in loose beige robes blinked once at Menma, who was now gripping her shoulders.

Her Byakugan activated (also sealless).

Then her leg blurred, sweeping around, and both Sasuke and Sakura were already wincing before Menma grunted in pain from the perfect rib-kick, reflexively loosening his hold, which released Alt!Hinata.

Lunging forward, she nearly knocked him out, but Sasuke managed to evade her fist, with Sakura helpfully blocking the follow-up kick and side-punch.

"Whoah whoah whoah, let's all just calm down and _talk_ , alright peoplitos?" he chuckled with a tinge of fear, hurrying to Menma's side to heal the damage, taking advantage of Alt!Hinata being busy with her and Sakura's taijutsu battle.

He barely pushed them both to the side in time to avoid the spray of water needles suddenly drilling into the dirt behind him.

"Is that a no?" he called.

Sakura rolled textbook-style to a stop next to him, probably tenketsu-sealed.

Alt!Hinata gazed at them coolly, legs set and arms ready in a Jyuuken pose.

"Talk," she snapped.

"Um, um, okay, so... talking now, talking now," Sasuke babbled, wishing his healing was going faster.

He wasn't the best diplomat, only when it came to wooing women, and clearly Alt!Hinata was as immune as Hinata had been.

"Why are you freaking out on us?" he settled on.

"Why should I tell you?" she returned, her Byakugan'd eyes somehow more menacing.

Menma grit his teeth and lowly said, "We... promise we aren't trying to hurt you. Also, he's a moron, so feel free to ignore what he says."

That didn't soften her stony face, but she _did_ speak more.

"... I was just summoned from my personal training, when I had made sure that there was no one around me in a two-mile range. Everyone else were civilians and ninja of the Leaf. I am understandably caught off-guard and thus suspicious when I end up surrounded by three very poor imitations of people I know. It wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to steal a bloodline. However, this is not a Genjutsu; I would know if it was. And your chakra systems are eerily similar to the people you're imitating, which is illogical when otherwise your imitations are worse than an Academy student's. In other words, you three are the worst infiltrators I've seen, yet oddly the best, as you somehow managed to summon me to this also-badly-imitated copy of Konoha."

"How are we bad imitations? How is this Konoha different from yours?" Sakura decided to pipe up, uncurling her deadened fingers with considerable difficulty.

Alt!Hinata doesn't even need to think before rattling off a string of differences.

"Uzumaki's hair, hairstyle, eyes, attitude, expressions, clothes, strength, and chakra are wrong. Also, missing a hitai-ate and his prisoner. Haruno's hairstyle, clothes, attitude, expressions, clothes, strength, and chakra are wrong. Uchiha's hairstyle, attitude, expressions, specialization, clothes, strength, allegiance, and chakra are wrong. Also, missing a hitai-ate and his bloodline. Konoha's streets, shops, places, attitude, and ninja are wrong. I can spot smiling Hyuuga and other Clans acting strangely. Also, there are Uchiha other than Uchiha."

"Well, we aren't imitations, although I really don't know what you mean by 'Uchiha other than Uchiha'. We summoned you from an alternate universe to see what our Hinata's alternate was like. Seriously. It should wear off in 24 hours," Sasuke claimed, pouring all his earnestness into convincing the very hostile (and quite pretty) Alt!Hinata.

(Hinata was pretty, too, just in a fearsome, touch-me-and-die-unless-you're-Menma sort of way.

Like, she was 'hot', and Alt!Hinata was beautiful.

[The charmer in him recognized the difference well.]

Equally scary, though.)

"Do you two agree that he is telling the truth?" she demanded, looking sharply at numb-all-over Sakura and almost-fully-healed Menma.

They nodded.

Alt!Hinata moved out of her fighting stance and towards Sakura.

"Relax," she told Sasuke when he started to shield her.

"You aren't lying, which means I'm really in another world. In that case, you aren't hostiles, you are alternate forms of my acquaintances. I'm merely unblocking her tenketsu."

Her hands flew over Sakura's tensed figure, straightening back up when she finished, with a, "You should be fine now."

They stared at each other for a moment of silence, a wary trio sizing up the warier fourth.

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _To be continued. Eventually._**

 ** _Probably._**

 ** _... Should I?_**

 ** _Review in with your take on it._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	21. Faith

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(faith in a messiah is what starts a religion)**

 **.**

 **[Age 15]**

"Yes! Ah-hah! I finally beat you, Hina-chan! Aren't you proud, huh? Aren't you happy?"

Naruto is 16 now, lively and full of life, bouncing around the training ground with those same beautiful eyes untarnished, not bothered by the bruises and closed tenketsu and rapidly hissing-shut wounds.

Hinata is glad of that.

She has, in the past few years, begun the process of finding and expressing her gratitude more clearly.

Right now, she is...

She is glad that Naruto's spirit had been undampened by his journey, undepressed by the 3 years without the Uchiha.

But it has just struck her how _different_ he is now, despite the similarities she mentioned before, and walking through those gates, Hinata realized that _Naruto didn't need her_.

It is, perhaps, rather _arrogant_ of her to believe that Naruto _ever_ needed her in the first place, but she likes ( _liked_ ) to believe nevertheless that Naruto had at least appreciated her company when they were younger.

Younger...

Hanabi is 10 now, two years from graduating the Academy, from being a Genin.

She wonders what kind of a world will Hanabi be graduating into.

She does not doubt Hanabi, not too much, because of course Hinata had tutored Hanabi herself, and she takes heart in knowing that Hanabi is rather strong in her own right.

With the Uchiha still running around, and Orochimaru on the loose, and all those rumors of S-class ninja planning _something_ , tensions are on the rise.

Hanabi is rather strong in her own right; is that ' _rather strong_ ' strong _enough_ to forge through a _war_ , in this generation of power and prophecy?

(The Hyuuga are lauded to have descended from a divine line of seer-gifted kami and soul-strong dragons.

Who knows how true _that_ is, but in the recesses of the Hyuuga secret-secret-locked library [that Hinata had gone searching for one day in a fit of ennui and curiosity], there is a scroll pinned to the wall.

It is pristine, far more pristine than it should be, not showing a flake of it's age.

On the scroll, there are no words, only a depiction of two vaguely humanoid creatures facing off, undetailed blobs of white and black, with a gray moon as the backdrop.

When she turned on her Byakugan to look at the scroll once more, Hinata was understandably startled to _readfeeltaste_ the chakra signatures somehow imbued into the picture.

One, from the moon, is cold and bizarrely _alien_ to her senses in every way, shifting and causing instinctive shivers if she gazes upon it too long.

The other two, one from each creature, are unnervingly familiar.

Even now, she remembers the faint echo of those chakra signatures entwined with Naruto and the Uchiha's.

If that isn't a prophecy, she'd stab her own eyes.)

So, she is glad of all that, because that means Naruto should survive the possible ( _definite upcoming_ ) war.

At the same time...

She is...

She is...

"Hey, what's wrong, Hina-chan? You look all... all sad and stuff. Are you okay? Do I need to punch someone for you? 'Cause I'd totally do it, y'know."

Now Naruto's close to her face with his beautiful ( _beautiful eternal precious_ _ **old old old ancient**_ ) eyes staring worriedly close to her own Byakugan'd ones.

Even now even now even now she can _seefeeltastesmellhear_ his warm caring vast _blue-red-purple_ chakra and it's _echoechoechoechoooooooo_ of that scroll-scribe signature and it- it- it-

She's great with words, not great with putting _feelsoulheartmindtangle_ emotions into words.

That's Naruto's shtick.

And she's distracted again, blanking out, thinking too much far too much overload stop stop stop don't focus on that echoechoecho that echo is wrong old past it's time-

( _maybe there's a grain of truth in that seer-kami soul-dragon ancestor myth_ )

"I'm happy for you, Naruto. It's good to see you've progressed so far. No, you don't need to punch someone for me, and yes, I know that you would do it," she forces out, glad (grateful gratitude grasping) her Byakugan'd eyes aren't readable.

He senses something is wrong, anyway, since he's Naruto and he's like that.

Hands (larger than her own now, no doubt) grip her shoulders firmly, and he draws back to stare at her intensely.

"What's wrong? Something's wrong. I know something's wrong. Is it about me winning?"

There's that charisma and trustmetrustmetrustme song of his chakra, compelling her to spill forth her soul, and it's good in a way, it's great in a way, it lightens her heart-

(Or it's _supposed to_ but it doesn't it just makes her feel guiltier feel worse feel tense and pent-up like she wants to _cry laugh kill sleep._ )

She tells him anyway, half-mad and overwhelmed and shutting off her Byakugan to shut off that echoechoechooooooing link that's disorienting her in ways she never knew.

"It's not- it's yes- it's about you winning. You winning means I'm no longer stronger than you, which is good for you I guess, though this spar wasn't with killing blows, because you're the one going after the Uchiha, but I don't know, it just makes me feel strange, like I taught you and I taught the Uchiha and I suppose I always sparred more with him and I never really lost to him, but now he's stronger than you or else you would've dragged him back ages ago, and that means he's automatically stronger than me, which I suppose I've always known since he's trained with Orochimaru and that messed-up sage-seal, but-"

Hinata cut herself off.

She was rambling, and she never rambled, only maybe sometimes in her head, and _kami_ this _echo-focus-ignore_ must be doing more than she thought.

Tempted to shake her head in an attempt to get the _afterimagefeeltastesent_ _ **echo**_ out, she instead glimpsed Naruto's reaction.

His hands gripped tighter, and his eyes are steadier than she's ever seen them.

"Hina-nee, I swear by the graves of my Clan and the hours you've used on me that I _will_ get Sasuke back."

But that's not the problem.

She doesn't know what the problem is.

( _leftbehindirrelevantclingscrapeholdtight_ )

She doesn't know what her problem is.

( _irelevantleftbehindunneededdestroywipe)_

Because she doesn't know what the/her problem is, and she just really wants to get away from Naruto to properly clear her head, she smiles as strongly as she can.

"I have faith in you, Naruto."

(She goes home and meditates and takes a _long_ bath and a long nap. The next day she has adjusted to Naruto's ocean-world of chakra, and is back to her composed self.

Hinata very steadfastly prohibits herself from trying to pick out the echo anymore, and she avoids looking at the scroll with her Byakugan the next time she goes to the secret-secret-locked library to scour the shelves for new jutsu ideas.)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Destiny is a messy thing._**

 ** _Reincarnation?_**

 ** _More so._**

 ** _Also known as, the inevitable hysterical mental breakdown, caused by the 'all-seeing' part of the Byakugan._**

 ** _Repressing so many core impulses and emotions and her initial gentle nature has consequences._**

 ** _Then again, every ninja has issues._**

 ** _They're ninjas._**

 ** _Pretty self-explanatory._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	22. AU: Online

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(the future is in technology, some say)**

 **.**

 **[Age 18]**

[Futuristic!AU]

 _Timestamp- 19:12:55_

 _Year 3673_

 _Undisclosed Location_

 _The Democratic Meritocracy of Yreif-Sevael, Under the Glorious Reign of the 5th Appointed_

.

.

The glow of dimmed golden light shone indoors on a small room, wallpapered in a neutral textured beige, and empty of all except:

-a hand-designed wooden 'honeycomb-style' cabinet, each circle-compartment a glass-covered individual 'locker', whose cover can be slid aside with a brass knob, that was beside-

-a person perched in a comfy high-backed swiveling chair, wearing a porcelain-esque mask that faintly pulsed out white light from the rune-like tracery (a tracery which vaguely outlined a minimalist wildcat of some sort) of safety-locks and other technology babble, straight in front of-

-a tastefully structured stainless steel table, bearing masses of neatly organized wires and monitors and sound systems and receivers and security-feed (old-fashioned tech sometimes was the best choice) and all the manner of half-finished scrapmetal projects, but most importantly it held-

-a stylish metallic bronze holo-disc inter-connector, open and humming, the same pulsing rune-like designs crawling over the cover. (Both sides of the cover.)

Slim, knuckle-scarred, callused fingers blurred rapidly over the holo-disc's projected smooth chrome 'keys' with the familiarity and ease of long practice, the dove-gray stripes of paint on the nails glimmering as they went down and up between what was essentially illusionary 'linked' air, the fair skin stretching over bones and flesh and blood becoming even paler.

 _[Enter:_ _ **nations5united . hub**_

 _ **nations5united . hub**_ _has been accessed._

 _Loading...]_

.

.

A pitch-black background popped up, split off into five perfectly equal portions, thinly rimmed with a fiery red, a dusty brown, a bright yellow, a transculent-seeming gray-white, and a pleasant blue.

(You could tell it was a high-quality, fairly specialized holo-disc; the graphics weren't see-through, and didn't glitch when you used the touch-swipe holo-interface.)

In the middle of the background, large white characters, in a suitably aesthetically-appealing font, were laid out in a seemingly nonsense order.

Those same fingers reached into silky black hair (bordering on a very dark midnight blue), pulled out a silver key-shaped ornamental hairpin, and positioned the glass faux-emerald in front of the inactive cam-eye embedded into sleek disc's upwards-facing side.

From the cam-eye abruptly emitted a lackluster green laser-like light, locking onto the faux-emerald.

 _._

 _._

 _[Key Submitted._

 _Key Status: Active._

 _Scanning access permission...]_

.

.

The laser-like light washed over the faux-emerald in an outwards-going-inwards series of progressively smaller spirals, shining past the glass covering, and briefly revealing the circular computer-chip underneath, hundreds of unique tiny white lines etched on the fittingly emerald-colored chip.

 _._

 _._

 _[Key Seal Found._

 _Key Seal: Active._

 _Access Permission: Granted, A-Rank Jounin._

 _Classified Information: S-Rank and SS-Rank._

 _Manual Password: Enter Below._

 _{ xxxxxxxxxxxx_ _}]_

.

.

Replacing the hairpin to it's former place in presiding over the glossy bun, long hands once more flashed over the 'keyboard'.

.

.

 _[{_ _8-12/27-DRIVE_ _}_

 _Validating Password..._

 _Manual Password: Validated._

 _Security Questions:_

 _ **1\. Hobby-**_

 _{_ _avoiding questions_ _}_

 _ **2\. Food-**_

 _{_ _is good_ _}_

 _ **3\. Life Job-**_

 _{_ _don't die_ _}_

 _ **4\. ANBU have a-**_

 _{_ _Guy Fawkes mask_ _}_

 _ **5\. AI-**_

 _{_ _are just asking for it_ _}_

 _ **6\. CAN. YOU. HACK. IT?**_

 _{_ _Yes, if it's a mission._ _}_

 _Validating Answers..._

 _Answers Validated._

 _Last Step?]_

.

.

Move the mouse, click the red-rimmed section, section expands to swallow up the entire screen.

 _._

 _._

 _[Access Unlocked._

 _Loading_ _ **willoffire . konoha**_ _...]_

.

.

Readable black words now scrolled across the homepage, followed by a the pitch-black background being swapped for a strange white map, crisp black lines sprawling across it's expanse in order to connect the color-coded dots, which linked to different pages/chatrooms, and had to be hovered over in order to reveal their titles.

Thicker sepia lines cordoned off certain dots and lines to create uniquely named sections, their names showing up as colored subtitles somewhere in their section.

 _._

 _._

 _[_ _ **willoffire . konoha**_ _has been loaded._

 _ **Welcome back to Konohagakure, Agent #012612**_

 _Profile Briefing:_

 _Name: Hyuuga, Hinata_

 _Name Status: Private/Locked_

 _Codename: Ocelot, Gen. 5_

 _Emergency Lock-Out Code: 4-18-9-22-5_

 _Rank: A, Jounin_

 _Classifications:_

 _-Primary Taijutsu 'Force'_ _Enforcer/Front-liner_

 _-Primary Tracker 'Search'_ _Capture/Destroy_

 _-Primary Tactician 'Plan'_ _On-Mission/Off-Mission_

 _-Cleared for_ _Squad Leader_

 _-Secondary Fuuinjutsu 'Hack'_ _Coder/Decoder_

 _-Secondary Genjutsu 'Persuasion'_ _Ambush/Support_

 _-Secondary Ninjutsu 'Chakra-Gifted'_ _Ambush/Support_

 _-Secondary Iryojutsu 'Heal'_ _Support_

 _-Tertiary Bukijutsu 'Weaponry'_ _Unlisted_

 _(_ _ **major specializations listed; list all?**_ _)_

 _Active Relations: Hiashi Hyuuga*, Neji Hyuuga, Hanabi Hyuuga**, ... (_ _ **direct relations listed; list all?**_ _)_

 _* = Clan Head_

 _** = in-training/E-Rank/Academy Student_

 _Active Comrades: Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha,_ _Kurenai Yuuhi, Sakura Haruno, Neji Hyuuga, ... (_ _ **several listed; list all?**_ _)]_

.

.

Hinata clicked the [x] button for the login profile overview, and accessed her Inbox, whose scarlet 'Alert' flag was digitally raised.

 _._

 _._

 _[_ _ **2**_ _new messages._

 _ **Subject: New Mission**_

 _ **From: Lady Tsunade**_

 _ **(**_ _ **Open**_ _ **)**_

Olleh, Hinata. You have a new mission.

It's tomorrow, early in the morning, so rest up and pack for an A-rank.

All it is is a string of high-B low-A Konoha missing-nin to be terminated, really.

You're team leader, expect to take at least a month, and the targets were tracked all over the place, so some may have ventured over the borders.

Use your best judgement regarding those; tensions have been heating up between the Organizations again, although we should at least be able to count on the Suna Organization as an ally.

Kiba Inuzuka's your close-combat and brute force, Shino Aburame's your long-distance strategics, and you'll be mid- to long-range with your offensive/defensive 'Eight Trigrams'.

We're all bulking up on missions to prepare for the possibility of another battle, or even worse, a war.

Hopefully the Above-Grounders don't get into it.

The last thing we need is a bunch of overpowered civvies to start hauling out the laser cannons and plasma guns and nukes.

Plans for that have progressed, however.

Soon the Organizations should be back to the way they were.

 _ **-Tsunade Senju, 50th Konoha-Selected**_

 **P.S.** Ignore that last security question, please. Naruto, that idiot, has been goofing off on duty while reinforcing our defenses again. That's what happens when you've got a bored Fuuinjutsu genius in a world where seals are equitable to coding. I have no idea how he managed to mimic an official security question answersheet and send it to everyone without anyone noticing the difference, but when get my hands on him...

 **P.P.S.** If you see him, tell me immediately. He's supposedly on an undercover intelligence mission and hacking effort, but he's got a backlog of 8 reports to send.

 **P.P.P.S.** And have I ever told you how you'r my favorite for being sensible and sane and never failing to locate a certain blond idiot-genius for me? Because you are. I totally did not just say the same thing to Sakura a week ago. Or to Tenten two weeks ago. Yup.

 **P.P.P.P.S.** But seriously, you are, and that decision has nothing to do with that deliciously divine bottle of sake you managed to scrounge up for my birthday three days ago. Do you know how hard sake is to find in today's world? Practically no one makes it anymore! Although wine's not too bad, and vodka packs a nice punch, and I suppose if worse came to worst even that 'beer' swill would suffice...

 _ **(**_ _ **Close**_ _ **) (Save to: ?) (Delete to Trash?) ('Send' Disabled) ('Forward' Disabled) ('Send Reply' Disabled)**_ ]

.

.

She sighed, a soft, shallow exhale of breath and stifled smiling.

Lady Tsunade had definitely been typing drunk again; probably dictating drunk, actually, since the words seemed too correctly spelled to be the work of a drunk Lady Tsunade.

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _To be continued._**

 ** _'Olleh' is a greeting in that universe._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	23. AU: Death

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(you _do_ know what you have; you just don't appreciate it until it's gone)**

 **.**

 **[Age ? ]**

"I didn't mean for this to end like this, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, _I didn't mean it_ -"

Her mouth opens weakly to say something, only to slide shut again, now forever silenced, her last words unspoken.

Weakly...?

No, not weak.

Not weak, not feeble.

She'd been _none_ of those things, had tried _so hard_ , her _entire life_ , to _not_ be those things.

She'd tried so hard to be _strong_ , and she _had_ been strong, _surely_ stronger than _he_ had been before this whole mess began.

And now that life was gone, and for what?

Would people remember her as a strong person?

Or would they remember the weakness in that strength that had felled her in finality?

It's driving him crazy now, crazier than he was before anyway, because he _had_ to be crazy to have- to have- to have done this and started this and considered this and not _stopped_.

Why had he not stopped like she'd asked him to?

 _Pleaded_ him to?

Why the fuck had he not stopped this?

If he had, then maybe she'd still be alive, his first mentor and first _friend_ still _alive!_

He felt guilt now, and sorrow, and dozens of other emotions he thought he'd blocked away for good, kept away for good, _killed_ for good.

She wasn't even his _best_ friend, now he saw; Naruto was his best friend, best rival and enemy, too, but they'd been best friends, even though both had known her for _years_ before meeting each other for real on the same team.

They'd just _clicked_ , and though he still made time for her, that was that; it had to be _made._

Before, it'd be natural: train and spar and talk with her for hours under the doubly-believed guise of 'recuperating with a meal after training'.

After, he'd convinced himself, consoled himself, that she was busy with her own team, and it was for the better that they cut down their one-on-one private training sessions and spars and lively if formal conversations later over bentos.

They'd drifted.

There was really no excuse after all, since Naruto had managed to stay close to her, had dedicated time to the person he saw adoringly as a big-sister idol of sorts, who intermittently mothered him with cool words that melted to positively _lukewarm_ when addressing him.

By first name!

It'd taken 16 years of her life to call _him_ by his first name.

He'd still remembered her, vivid, remembered her sound advice and practicality and barely-there hints of sly witticisms.

She was his _first_ friend, and that was supposed to _mean_ something, wasn't it?

Didn't it _mean something_ that he'd never been able to forget her soft hair and always-changing scents and opalescent eyes and flawless fingers that could obliterate a person in milliseconds?

It had to mean _something_.

Even in his... _darker_ days, his days of madness and revenge and blood that will stain him 'til his lonely grave, he'd never, never ever _never_ forgotten her.

So yes, it meant something.

As Sasuke knelt there, in the war-torn wasteland, a cold corpse held desperately in his hands, that small significance gave him no comfort.

Because he had no idea what that _something_ **meant**.

Which just rendered it into _nothing_.

When Naruto rode in on a blaze of glorious retribution and furious golden aura hours later, slit eyes flashing solid orange-red-balance- _blood_ at the sight of the colder (coldest?) corpse, chakra-sharp claws swinging for a recklessly unrestrained blow, Sasuke half-contemplated letting him finish the deed and release him from this suddenly duller mortal plane.

 _Shwooooop-_

 **Clang!**

And the madness continues.

Such is the cycle.

Of hatred?

No.

Not just that.

Of life and death and the things achieved in-between.

 _Things lost in-between._

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Well, death scenes are always fun, aren't they?_**

 ** _It was the prompt; don't blame me._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	24. Opportunity

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(gratitude, shackles, where is the border of affection and love)**

 **.**

 **[Age ? ]**

Hanabi loves her Nee-chan.

For many reasons.

First and foremost, she is her sister.

Sibling ties are both overrated and underestimated at the same time.

Hanabi does not love Hinata merely because of their shared blood, however.

(Hiashi and Hizashi had shared blood, and they loved each other even when they hated each other.

Hizashi _had_ to have loved his brother just a shade more than he hated him, because in the end, would someone who hated him have died willingly for him?

 _Who knows_ ; maybe it was actually Hizashi's last act of rebellion against the Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird and all that it stood for, one last effort to proclaim, " _I hold power over my own destiny._ "

But Hiashi will remember Hizashi always as the child who laughed with him, as the boy who fought with him, as the teen who cheered for him, not as the man who glared and refused to look at him.)

Hanabi loves Hinata because she gave her so many opportunities.

If Hinata hadn't been born before her, hadn't been made heiress-apparent, hadn't drawn away Tou-sama's expectations and never-good-enough-disapproval and constant pushing, hadn't left his neutral acknowledgement and so-so-approval and chilly presence to her, then Hanabi would've been heiress.

She's not as silly as she pretends; she knows being heiress isn't a cushy job, she knows that if she was heiress then she'd be unhappy.

This is good for her, this right now.

Hanabi loves Hinata because Hinata lets Hanabi have the freedom to be herself.

As much freedom as there ever is in the Hyuuga Clan, anyway, which is still a fair bit more than the average.

This is good.

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Short, but I finished what I meant to say, I think._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	25. Judgement

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(play-acting under the theatre lights)**

 **.**

 **[Age 16]**

It's not personal, not really, not anymore.

Maybe it was just a _bit_ personal when he left, maybe he had been a tad angry at him being so easily overpowered, maybe he had been a mite frustrated with himself at his lack of a promotion, maybe he had been a snippet bitter about Naruto and Hinata seemingly still leagues ahead of him with Sakura swiftly closing the gap.

Maybe maybe maybe be as it may.

But it's not personal right now.

Right now, as he stares at the stone over his head, as he prepares for a confrontation, as he thinks and wonders, it's not personal.

He did what he did, and it's done.

Hinata would understand; she'd read the letter and understand, because she'd been the one who pushed him to find guidance for improving himself in the first place all those years ago, and if anyone would understand his choice, it would be the one who sparred and trained and advised and _taught_ him for 4 years.

She'd understand, and perhaps she won't approve, but she'd understand.

Naruto wouldn't understand; he's too emotionally invested in him as his rival-friend-frenemy to understand, because he'd persist in believing the best of Sasuke even through the worst, and if anyone would chase a supposed-traitor to the ends of the earth and back and refuse to kill him in an attempt to 'bring him home', it would be the one who bickered and teased and fought and encouraged him for 4 years.

He won't understand, and perhaps he will sympathize, but he won't understand.

Nobody else would understand either; 'revenge-obsessed', 'greedy', 'cold-hearted traitor', 'betrayer', 'sob-story', 'mislead and misguided', 'confused and desperate', 'pitied orphan', 'last of the Uchiha', 'deserter', 'perfect vessel', 'delusional', 'power-focused', 'rare bloodline', 'potential prodigy', 'lost asset', 'kill-on-sight'.

Titles.

They wouldn't _understand_ , truly.

They wouldn't understand the concept of doing something you dislike, you hate, you loathe, you resent in return for the power to _do something_.

He knows that Hinata dislikes her Clan, hates her father, loathes the seal, resents the limits locked on her.

Are those feelings well-founded?

Will they stay the same?

Who knows.

But she understands when you have to play a part, as distasteful as it may be, in order to achieve your goals.

So this isn't personal, this isn't some grudge against Konoha, this isn't a rebellion based on imagined slights.

This is just him playing a distasteful part to achieve his goal.

It's all long-term, now, and for the ruse to be discovered too early would be... bad.

Difficult to work with.

Too long-term, though, and he might sink too far into his part.

He's glimpsed Hinata's hidden mini-fits and overheard secretive rambling-mutters to herself, gripping her head like it's a migraine and shouting to nobody in the forest.

He's felt the fear in her eyes whenever she catches herself saying something, _thinkingplanningreacting_ something.

She's afraid her mask of the heiress will cling too tight and one day melt into her skin and she _won't be able to get it off_.

It's incredibly ironic, really, because Hinata wants strength in order to control her life, while the source she exploited for that very strength is simply given more control.

Method acting...

Should _he_ be equally afraid that _his_ mask of the defector and apprentice will cling too tight and one day melt into _his_ skin?

"Sasuke-kun~! Some of your, ah, friends have come to see if you'd like to play. Are you coming up?"

Sasuke closes his eyes, and when he snaps them open, they're bleeding sunset hue into his vision.

He gets off his bed in an Otogakure base, making his way calmly upstairs, through the silent throngs of readied _reinforcementsmeatshieldssacrificeexperimentsssafetyvessels_ swarming the chilly stone tunnels, their blank eyes following him, moths to a fire that will burn their wings.

"Sasuke-kun~?"

"Let's get this over this," Sasuke cracks his neck from side to side, not missing the Snake Sannin's unholy look of delight at finally seeing how his pet-project will fare against his former ( _?_ ) allies.

 _(Get away, dobe. It's useless.)_

He steps out the most obvious entrance.

 _(Help me, Naruto. I'm trapped.)_

Sasuke raises his head to meet the judgement in Naruto's gaze.

.

.

.

(There is none.)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Condemnation of a traitor?_**

 ** _No._**

 ** _Salvation for a friend._**

 ** _Naruto, you selfless charisma-oozing idiot, you._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review.-_**


	26. Thirty-Three

**Summary:**

 _Some people don't ask questions because they want to hear answers; they ask questions because they want to hear questions. What are you? [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I would've done a reprint of Part I with cleaned-up art, and I would've filled in the glaring plot holes evident in some chapters. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(clearly, tora has spawned a whole new division of mental trauma through the generations)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

It was acknowledged among many ninja that in each peacetime year, three new Genin teams would pass into officialization, out of the minimum of nine 'testing' possible Genin teams formed out of that year's graduating candidates.

More teams can be formed, depending the varying levels of suitable Genin prospects, but ultimately only 1/3 would pass, and having more than nine 'testing' teams a year was considered rare, especially in the population scarcity after the last War and the October 10th attack.

Numbers were recuperating, slowly.

However, while the civilians' numbers were flourishing in the seemingly serene aftermath of the aforementioned two events, a ninja's life has always been statistically short and stimulated, unless they decided to become part of the Genin Corps or 'paperwork ninja' or simply a career Genin/Chuunin.

Those who reached Tokubetsu Jounin, or regular Jounin, were the ones powerful and skilled enough to not be satisfied with a dull desk-job. They want glory, or to protect, or to truly _do_ something for their village, and if they were good enough, they'd live long enough to see the results of their work. Clan ninja, especially, could count on both being sent on more important missions and having a higher life expectancy.

Thus, active ninjas have historically had far fewer children than your typical civilian, marrying young or not marrying at all, siring/birthing out maybe one healthy infant, perhaps two or more if they were lucky and in a stable situation, then either semi-retiring to raise the child/children, leaving the child/children at an orphanage, giving the child/children to someone they trust, living without knowledge of their progeny's existence, or even dying shortly after the child/children's birth (which leaves either the orphanage or possibly someone named in a will).

The point was, newly-officialized Team 8 was now waiting somewhat patiently in a bar for the two other passed teams to come, as they whittled away the time with banal chatter and inane questions and silly bets.

(Great bonding, anyway, which was why Kurenai had suggested they head over to the meeting place as soon as they'd completed her test.)

.

.

.

"Why is the place called 'Dead Tiger-Cat'?"

"Ah... you'll find out soon enough."

"It cannot be referring to the establishment itself. Why? Because it is illegal to keep a tiger, much less kill one, considering how rare they are, and how severe their protection laws are. Perhaps the title is referring to a breed of cat that resembles a tiger, but the notion of killing one remains illogical without us being given more information. Possibly the proprietor is mourning a tiger or a cat they were once familiar with."

"However, Aburame-san, the establishment has been open for more than twenty years, which is rather excessive for mourning a pet. The name might be meant as a metaphor, or a reference to a proverb, or a tale of some sort."

"That is only when you assume that it is a pet. I do concede that twenty years of mourning is indeed rather excessive in most cases. I also admit I have not heard a proverb including a dead tiger or a dead cat, although that theory bears worthy thought."

"You both made very good arguments, Shino and Hinata. I'm afraid that your teammate is being quite 'left in the dust', so to speak."

"I am not! ... I think."

"Ar ar!"

"Thanks, buddy!"

"Anyway, if you're all so curious, I'll make it an impromptu mission. Find out the reason for the bar's name, and tell me when we meet overmorrow."

"Overmorrow?"

"The day after tomorrow."

.

"Who are we waitin' on, anyway? We should be training! Or going on missions! Or... something shinobi-ish!"

"..."

"..."

"That was not a wise move. Why? Two members of our squad are kunoichi, and thus, not shinobi. Your statement can therefore be taken as an insult."

"I- I didn't mean it like that! You're all totally super strong! And not girly! And all ninja-ish!"

"... *sigh, roll eyes* ..."

"...?"

"I believe this is what is called, 'digging a larger hole'."

"Help me out here, Shino!"

"And how would you propose that I accomplish that objective?"

"I dunno, say something smart and make it better!"

"Grr ar ar rowr!"

"See, Akamaru agrees!"

"I doubt that that is truly what he was saying. Why? He is now chewing on your pant-leg."

"I'm sorry, but if your ninken is going to be a disturbance and start damaging property, we will have to ask you to leave. We have an agreement with the Inuzuka Clan Head."

"I understand your worries, Waiter-san, and rest assured, I will be controlling my students tighter from now on."

"Thank you, kunoichi-san. It is always nice to see a responsible Jounin-sensei. In fact, the founder of this bar is a retired ninja, did you know?"

"Oh? How interesting. Well, thank you for that fact. Are our adjacent tables still reserved?"

"Yes, of course. You paid upfront and made the reservations a week ago, and it is our policy to wait three hours for reserved tables, and then refund the money if they remain empty and we are in need of more space. Are you sure you would not like to order anything?"

"No; we will order later."

"Alright. Good-day, ninjas-san."

"And that is how you properly address a mixed group of kunoichi and shinobi, Kiba."

"Sorry, Kurenai-sensei."

"...?"

"Sorry, Hinata."

.

.

.

"Who do you think gonna's pass as well?"

"It should be fairly obvious, Inuzuka-san."

"Hinata's correct, in terms of politics. Would you like to explain why, Shino?"

"We are Team 8. Team 7 and Team 10 will also pass. Why? They contain all the Clan children in our graduating year. Therefore, it would be social suicide to not pass them, especially as they are also the heir- and heiress-apparent."

"But what about, um, what was her name... ah! What about Sakura? She's a civvie."

"Technically, Inuzuka-san, Haruno-san is the offspring of two career Chuunin. However, they have since retired and taken up civilian practices, so she was raised as a civilian. It is unlikely that she is even aware of her parents' former occupations, as they dropped out relatively quickly."

"Retired ninja are still listed in the reserve corps, right?"

"Yes, they are. As for Haruno, there were no more Clan children who graduated, and since she had the highest scores of the others, she was included to round off the numbers."

"Naruto's not Clan, though."

"He is. The Uzumaki Clan was the ruling Clan of Uzushiogakure, a sister-village to Konohagakure, that was destroyed in the last war. Senju Hashirama married Uzumaki Mito, who was renown for her impressive chakra chains. They were known for their seals mastery, dense chakra, rejuvenation, large reserves, short tempers, boundless energy, and their signature red hair. The last Uzumaki in Konoha-"

"Sorry to cut you off, Hinata, but any further than that is prohibited by law. Where did you learn so much about the Uzumaki?"

"I read."

"I can hear the deadpan in you, Hinata. Where did you get the _books?_ "

"I am prohibited by Clan law, Kurenai-sensei."

"... Um, Shino, is she snarking, or what?"

.

.

.

"Alright, celebratory drinks for everyone! Traditional rite of passage, kiddos."

"Asuma-"

"Chill, Kurenai. It's just some light sake. Super-light, I swear on my hotness."

"Only _you_ think you're hot, Asuma."

"Not true; if I wasn't mistaken, didn't you use to have a crush on him, Kurenai?"

" _Kakashi-_ "

"You had a crush on me? I _knew_ it! Hey-hey-hey, no need to start casting genjutsu now. Did I ever tell you how _gorgeous_ you look when you're mad? An avenging angel, really. Smokin', I tell you."

"Flattery-"

"-will get you _everywhere_ in the ninja life."

" _Stop interrupting, Kakashi!_ "

"Oh? I wasn't aware that I was interrupting something. Carry on, then, you two. I have some A-rank pay riding on when you guys get over your massive UST and begin riding each other."

" _There are children here._ "

"No, there are _Genin_. As in, ninja. As in, old enough to kill (speaking of which, when are you two planning on getting your Genin blooded?), old enough to drink, old enough to hear about sex. Not old enough to _fuck_ , though, since we _really_ do not need any more teenage pregnancies or rumors of pedophilia in Konoha."

"Rumors of _pedophilia?_ "

"Orochimaru. My old man complains sometimes about him when he's really hit the bottle halfway through his paperwork."

"Er... Are you really allowed to tell us that?"

"Don't be so uptight, Kurenai. Enjoy it. You're a Jounin! Didn't you just pass the test a couple months ago? Have a drink, have two drinks, get drunk and make-out with Asuma!"

" _What._ Like. What. What did you say. Just now. You said something. What."

"I'm not against it..."

Hinata faintly smiled at the Jounins' conversation, Kurenai flustered, Asuma shameless, Kakashi blithe.

She sipped her drink.

Searing down her throat, warm and thick and a tang of a coppery trace among the musk.

 _(Is this what blood tastes like, in the heat of a kill?)_

At her sides were people talking, laughing, sharing, unaffected Naruto downing jugs of sake like they were water, most of the Genin watching him with awe or disgust, careful Shino stealthily pouring his sake into Kiba's, careless Kiba amusedly letting Akamaru lick up some from an extra bowl, lightweight Sasuke already tipsy and giggling halfway through his sakazuki, avid Sakura and enthusiastic Ino staring wide-eyed at Sasuke, foodie Choji ordering some dishes to go with his sake, uninterested Shikamaru napping with his head laid onto the table.

Her eyes scanned the golden-lit cheerful-ambiance bar.

It felt nice.

 _These are my new comrades._

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _Fluffy team-bonding._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review. Please. I spent an hour reloading and editing drabbles, I need at least five reviews.-_**


	27. Numbers

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different?_ _[AU] [_ _Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles_ _]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's 120% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 ** **.****

 ** **(teachers, alcohol, cramming/grading, and more alcohol)****

 ** **.****

 ** **[Age 5]****

It's the end of the new Year 1's first trimester.

Funeno Daikoku, also known as Funeno-sensei and Daikoku-san and, in rare cases, when he and the addresser were either very close or very drunk, Daikon (Radish), has a problem.

Not a life-threatening one (hopefully not a life-threatening one, anyway), but still, a problem.

You see, as one of the Year 1 teachers for the A class (A for advanced, accelerated, augmented, annoying, etc., and the B class for basic, beginner, sometimes 'baka' if one is feeling mean), and as the teacher in charge of Year 1 Class A-1, that means he's the fellow unlucky enough to be handling a class mainly made up of Clan heirs/heiresses.

One can argue that he's lucky, since being their teacher might win him some points with the Clans.

Daikoku adamantly defends that he knows better by now: Being their teacher just means he has to work doubly hard to make sure no Clan children pick on the civvie kids, to make sure the Clan children are well-taught and have no reason to complain to their _very powerful_ parents, to make sure that his actions and words are carefully modulated for fear of the massive backlash potentially provoked and political ramifications potentially attached.

Or, like Suzume once adroitly put it, "Favoritism's a big no-no, unless you favor all of the Clans. Then it's a big need-to-know."

Ah, Suzume. Stiff and proper at work, a weakness for afterschool teacher get-togethers at the bar, well, more accurately, a weakness for discount sake, best stern-librarian pokerface he's ever seen, high-stakes gambler at dice, and a peculiar but much appreciated habit of getting stone-cold drunk and seeming entirely sober except for her exceedingly amusingly sardonic quips about life, ninja, villages, and life in ninja villages.

Wait, right, back to the problem, Daikoku mentally pokes at himself.

Where was he again?

Oh, yes, the favoritism.

So, it's not exactly a hidden secret. Everyone knows about it, or at least expects it.

The status quo, if you will.

Better equipment, first dibs, extra instructions, bonus opportunities, looser restrictions, keener to look the other way, more agreeable to requests, and generally a 'nicer' attitude towards them.

Some say 'brown-nosing', some say 'suck-ups', some say words that would be marked down as 'inappropriate language for a learning environment'.

Is there really a difference?

You gotta do what you've gotta do in order to stay in this business, and in this particular sub-business, what you've gotta do is you've gotta stay in the tolerant graces of the Clans.

(Civvies have a 77% drop-out rate, anyway, compared to the Clan rate of less than 1%.

Likewise, failure rates for a Jounin-sensei's test is 93% for civvies, and a little more than 22% for Clans.

[Jounin-sensei tests can be given 3 times, before you're evaluated by a Genin Corps member, and are either approved for the Genin Corps, or are failed and sent to reintegrate into civilian society. There have been less than 5 Clan graduates who have failed the Genin Corps evaluation in the entire history of Konoha, and all were dubbed either terminally ill, or mentally unstable, or otherwise severely and critically unfit for duty.]

The Genin Corps are 85% civvie, and it's incredibly difficult for civilians without Clan-backing or catching the notice of an important sponsor to advance any further than Genin.

[Technical definitions of a civilian ninja are those without both parents being active or retired ninja. Otherwise, extra training will be harder to gain, as much valuable information and techniques are restricted to ninja or to Clans.])

Amiable is aimed for, 'good' is rarer than an A-rank mission for Genins.

Unheard of, no, but extremely, extremely, extremely doubtful to happen.

Grading, therefore, is an arduous task consisting the delicacy of balancing a building on glass eggshells which, when cracked, set off explosive tags.

In other, less eloquent words, "really fucking hard".

In Suzume's words, "I'm not drunk enough to do this yet."

.

.

.

Once, Umino Iruka, a Genin, Chuunin-hopeful, and eager-to-be future Academy-teacher-applicant asked them what was the big deal about it. Surely it is the simply the job of the teacher to aspire to treat their students as well as they can, right?

Daikoku laughed in his face, then choked on his spit, he was laughing so hard.

"That's a great one," he chuckled, thumping down a hand onto the polished surface of 'The Spiked Shuriken' bar, where he and Suzume had been drinking together before Iruka had cornered them. Wiping mirthful tears out of his eyes, he kept chuckling. "Tell it again! Hilarious!"

Suzume was more tactful about it, and just sighed, shaking her head. Also, slamming down a shot of some strange beyond-Snow-Country imported drink called 'vodka', that she swore was fantastic for giving just the right degree of burn and booze.

"Boy," she'd advised, "You're too kind-hearted for a shinobi. And I don't think you really understand what being a Ninja Academy teacher is all about. But you've got the ideals, and maybe you've got the guts. All I'm sayin' is, think twice 'fore you dive in headfirst. Do you _really_ want to be an unrespected authority figure who's underpaid, overworked, and has to fight tooth and nail just to make sure their budget doesn't shrink even _more?_ "

Looking determined, Iruka replied with certainty, "Yes. I wish to guide the future generations of Konoha, and teach them to be proud ninja of the Leaf!"

Turning sheepish, he added, "Um, after I make Chuunin and qualify for applying to teach, anyway."

The duo eyed him for a long beat, and then Suzume nudged Daikoku harshly with her [bony, if you ask him] elbow.

Rolling his eyes, Daikoku obediently pulled out a chair beside them, and gestured for Iruka to sit.

"Well, then, if you're so sure, we should get you accustomed to the rituals of an Academy teacher. First things first: You shalt not say 'no' to Suzume and her sake, or any other alcohol, really. Oh, hey, that reminds me; if you're gonna be a teacher someday, you have to complete the Academy teacher initiation. Suzume thought of it, of course, shameless alcoholic that she is. Seriously, she's drinking buddies with Mitarashi Anko. I know, I know, she doesn't look it, but that's just 'cuz she likes to pretend she's a prim and proper old maid, and never meets up with Anko unless they're both under Henge or disguised. She cleans up real nice, she does, if she ever bothers to do it for anything other than bar-hopping anonymously. Used to be Intelligence, 'till she quit after an interrogation went bad. ... But that's enough about that. So, basically, you have to drink these three glasses of these different alcohols that aren't native to the Elemental Nations under three minutes. Burns like a bitch, it does. Better hope you ain't a lightweight, eh? She can probably name all of them if you asked, but I kinda forget, heheh..."

Now it was Suzume's turn to roll her eyes. Another [bony] elbow-nudge occurred, and, grumbling, Daikoku swapped seats with her, so she was now next to the increasingly nervous brunette Genin.

"Oh, scooch over, ya fat lug. And just whose lifestory are you spillin', anyhow? Look, kid, here's the deal. There's this shot of whiskey, there's this shot of tequila, and there's this shot of _truly magnificent_ vodka. Oh, just look at you, so crystal-clear and hellfire-burning..."

Iruka looked appropriately discomfited as Suzume began to croon and sweet-talk her glass of colorless liquid.

"U-Um, does she do that a lot...?"

Daikoku merely sighed in answer, sounding a lot like Suzume's earlier sigh-and-shake.

He patted the younger shinobi on the shoulder.

"Yup. Welcome to the gang, kiddo. You're one of us now. Or, well, you will be, as soon as you make Chuunin and get hired."

"So you think I have a chance?" Iruka inferred, brightening up.

"Oh, definitely. Because nobody else ever wants the job. I dunno why _you_ want the job, actually. Like Suzume said: underpaid and overworked and boozed up 'till dawn, that's our life now. Well, the last one's just _her_ life. Want a drink?"

(Years later, Daikoku will look upon that moment with fond reminiscence.

Iruka did turn out to be a lightweight, and it was absolutely hilarious to see his face the next day when Daikoku had casually commended him for his bravery in 'getting frisky with Suzume'.

Oh, they hadn't had _sex_ , of course, but it was, again, absolutely hilarious to watch Iruka dance around the topic blushingly with Suzume.

Suzume herself was too used to getting drunk and blacking out and waking up in random places to care at all.

Iruka had eventually confronted her, and Suzume had bluntly told him she'd remember if she woke up naked, and things had died down for a bit, although Iruka had been rather huffy with Daikoku for a while.

Then Daikoku had 'let slip' that when he'd said 'getting frisky', he'd just meant that Iruka had groped her.

And he actually did, and Suzume had actually propositioned him, and nothing had really happened beyond that, but now why would Daikoku say that when he could just sit back and spectate Iruka dance around the topic once more with the half-oblivious half-uncaring Suzume?

Academy teacher hazing.

Not as greatly humiliating or greatly humorous as ANBU hazing.

But still pretty damn great, if he did say so himself.

You gotta love it.

'Sides, hadn't Iruka been a prankster in his childhood?

So he should be able to appreciate a good prank, shouldn't he?

Apparently not, judging by the extra-huffy huffiness clinging to Iruka after the second 'getting frisky' incident.

That, and the whole 'paint bucket over the door' trick.

Damnit, neon glow-in-the-dark blindingly orange waterproof paint is a bitch and a half to get off!

[Suzume had been gifted with a bottle of fine sake, one each from both of them, so she was content enough to play along, for both.

Hah.

Suckers.

Now that's what you call hedging your bets.

Watch and learn, bitches.

Well, the gender-correct term would be bastards.

Though Iruka is awfully aggressive about insisting his masculinity...

Suspiciously aggressive...

Hmm...])

.

.

.

Internal musings go somewhat like this, for Daikoku at least, as he hunches over his desk and carefully, considering, sits and ponders for a few silent moments, and then quickly scrawls down swiftly inked hiragana, nearly afraid that his inspiration will dash away in a Shunshin if he lingers too long:

'Okay, wow, I need to stop drinking all this tea. I think the caffeine's going to my head. I mean, seriously? Inspiration using a Shunshin? Maybe it's the sleep-deprivation, too. Wasn't Suzume raving about that new Western-style drink that's like tea, but way stronger? 'Coffee'? Reminder to self, try 'coffee' next time grading rolls around.

Whew, bathroom break is just what I needed. Okay, I'm back now. Who's first on the roster? Yamanaka Ino? Huh, I wonder how they ordered this list… kami, knowing Kotetsu and Izumo, they probably slacked off until the last minute, and then just dropped in one day to write their names down by the way they were seated. Ah, whatever. No skin off my back. So long as I manage to play this grading right and don't piss off any of the Clans. I don't _think_ any of them are too touchy, but you never know...

I mean, the Yamanaka run the rumor mills, and can ruin you socially. Inoichi-san is in the Interrogation Department. Their flower shop also supplies most of Konoha's ninja with their poisons.

Ino's a smart one for her age, though. Chatterbox, spitfire. Going to be popular one day; a shoe-in for 'Queen Bee'. Come to think of it, she's been hanging around that pink-haired civvie recently. Sakura, was it? Hmm, might want to note her for surveillance, see if she'd be worth cultivating.

So that's: **C** in Physical Education, **B** in Cooperation, **A** in Positivity, **B** in Classroom Attitude, **B** in Writing, **B** in Reading, **A** in Mathematics, **A** in History, **B** in Economics, **C** in Science, **B** in Geography, **B** in Chakra Theory, **B** in Weapon Theory.

[3 A's, 8 B's, 2 C's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Smart and socially-savvy, spunky as well. Lots of potential, has a natural grasp of human psychology and manipulation. It is recommended that she focus on improving her physical ability, as well as study harder to bring up her grade in Science, which she has professed a disdain for.]

Taijutsu isn't officially taught as part of the mandated curriculum until Year 2, when it starts being incorporated into Physical Education as the basic Academy-style Steadfast Leaf katas, and it has to wait until Year 4 before it starts getting into serious sparring. The specialized after-school kunoichi lessons start being offered in Year 2, too. Ninjutsu and Genjutsu have to wait until Year 5, thank kami.

Although it's still going to be a disaster-in-the-making trying to teach a bunch of 10 year olds the 'ninja tricks' they idolize so much. It's a blessing if they sit still for the entire explanation! There's always that _one idiot who doesn't **listen**_ and tries to do a technique the wrong way...

At least the 'throwing weapons' for Year 2 are basically heavily blunted darts. School budget doesn't allow for actual kunai and shuriken until Year 3, and then those are heavily blunted as well. Can't let the prissy civilians get up into another snit about 'health' and 'safety'; kami, if they wanted 'health' and 'safety' then why the hell would they enroll their kids in a ninja academy?

Oh, wait, it's because the Council's too stingy to build a separate civilian school, so the civvies got to deal with it unless they drop out, homeschool, or apprentice.

Okay, rant over. I really should lay off the tea, but damnit, these reports are due by freakin' Friday, which is... fifteen hours and counting from today. Kami-fucking-damnit procrastination!

Aburame, Aburame... ah, Aburame Shino!

He's quiet, loner, bit odd, really, but highly intelligent and logical. Most Aburame are. And who are we too judge for 'oddness'? Every high-ranked ninja is bonkers, if you ask me. Well, actually, if you asked me, I'd never say that, or write that, but that's just self-preservation and common sense.

Back to Shino.

He seems fine by himself, too, and it's not like he's deliberately unfriendly or getting bullied; a few nasty remarks have been said, sure, but he shrugs them off, or easily knocks them down a peg verbally, and his 'creepy bugs' deter any physical action from being taken.

So that's: **B** in Physical Education, **B** in Cooperation, **C** in Positivity, **C** in Classroom Attitude, **B** in Writing, **A** in Reading, **A** in Mathematics, **B** in History, **B** in Economics, **A** in Science, **A** in Geography, **A** in Chakra Theory, **B** in Weapon Theory.

[5 A's, 6 B's, and 2 C's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Bright and capable, thrives off of theory, with a linguistic fluency and advanced vocabulary that is highly above average for his age level. It is encouraged that Shino should attempt to foster new bonds with his classmates, who will, of course, one day be his comrades-in-arms.

Other than that, Shino is a well-balanced and intelligent individual, as well as a student that teacher's are proud to teach, and he will go far in his future.]

Inuzuka Kiba. Clan kid to the core, proud of his heritage, boasts it, uncooperative, rather arrogant, too loud, roughhouser, fiercely defends his ninken, picks fights but can usually walk out of it okay, great instincts to temper out his dislike for book smarts, a bit of a malicious teaser and the beginnings of a bully, but his clan-kid classmates can keep him in check for the most part. If we can smooth out some of his roughness, provide a decent outlet for his energy, correct his fighting form, and don't bother his dog, he'll be an alright shinobi, hands-down.

 _Paws-_ down.

... Okay, okay, that was a bad pun, I get it.

So that's: **A** in Physical Education, **C** in Cooperation, **B** in Positivity, **C** in Classroom Attitude, **C** in Writing, **B** in Reading, **B** in Mathematics, **B** in History, **B** in Economics, **C** in Science, **B** in Geography, **B** in Chakra Theory, **C** in Weapon Theory.

[1 A, 7 B's, 5 C's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Kiba is a very physical learner, who learns well when active, and has impressive raw strength and stamina for his age. It is advised that he practice more patience towards his academic studies, and learn to accept help from others. Determination is good for a shinobi, but headstrong stubbornness is another matter entirely.

There have been past complaints about him being a little too rough with the other children, but Kiba has appeared appropriately contrite after facing the consequences, and the teaching staff are confident that he will behave himself in a manner befitting a Konoha ninja-in-training from now on. As per his request, next year there will be certain allowances made for Akamaru to join Kiba in his studies.]

Nara Shikamaru...

Ah, I've taught Naras before.

Always the same thing: naps during class, dead-on in the middle of the pack, veritable genii who are too lazy to make much of it in school. Consistently great tactical ninja, though, and can take care of themselves. The problem with trying to be average is when your family has an infamous history of doing it; wisening up to their ways, is that what they say? Leaving exactly half the answers filled in correctly and the other half left blank just means he hasn't the motivation to finish the rest when he _can_. We can pretty much just let him be, and he'd probably appreciate that the most. 'Sides, with a father like his and mother like that, I think he'll get all the training he needs. Not _wants_ , because then that's not training.

So that's: **B** in Physical Education, **B** in Cooperation, **B** in Positivity, **B** in Classroom Attitude, **B** in Writing, **B** in Reading, **B** in Mathematics, **B** in History, **B** in Economics, **B** in Science, **B** in Geography, **B** in Chakra Theory, **B** in Weapon Theory.

[13 B's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Shikamaru is smart, and clever, and many other valuable traits that could catapult him into whatever position he'd like in life, if only those traits weren't so balanced out with his vast understanding of the need for efficiency. That is, while he never resists a teacher's orders, arrives on time, follows directions, and does not cause trouble, he also does not put forth his best effort at all times, which is a mildly vexing habit, especially as we are aware that he purposely manipulated his grades to be a straight 'B' student.

Nevertheless, he is still a good student, well-liked among the staff for his calmness and non-propensity to sow chaos and reap anger. We merely, with all politeness, request that you convince him to exert more effort in class, or at the very least, learn to nap more discreetly.]

Akimichi Choji is another one of the thankfully less troublesome-

 _Oh dear kami I've been infected with the Shikamaru-isms!_

Less... trouble- _making_ students?

Okay, that's better.

So Choji's a decent sort, nice enough, doesn't bully anyone, we have to watch out a bit for _him_ getting bullied, though luckily he has Shikamaru who is probably the laziest and smoothest watchdog ever.

Waxes eloquent on the topic of food with a fiery passion, meek and lacking much personality or opinion outside of that, constantly eats, which is understandable considering how the Akimichi techniques require more body mass.

So that's: **C** in Physical Education, **A** in Cooperation, **B** in Positivity, **B** in Classroom Attitude, **B** in Writing, **B** in Reading, **A** in Mathematics, **A** in History, **B** in Economics, **C** in Science, **A** in Geography, **B** in Chakra Theory, **B** in Weapon Theory.

[4 A's, 7 B's, and 2 C's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Not much to say. A good student overall, peaceable and kind. He could use some more self-confidence, though, to deter any bullying. Don't worry, the teachers have always stepped in to end bullying whenever they see it, and Choji has a good friend in Nara Shikamaru, who aids in deterring the bullying as well. His physical strength is quite good, but he needs more training in speed and stamina, and finds some scientific concepts too vague to understand. If he volunteers more often in class, that would be appreciated.

Also, would you mind terribly to provide him some less crunchy snacks? We understand his need to eat more, but the crunching noises sometimes distract from the learning.]

Oh kami, look at the time.

I'm not going to be getting _any_ sleep before school tomorrow, am I?

Yeah, yeah, I know, that was what I signed up for when I put off doing all these reports.

Shut up, conscience of mine.

Uchiha Sasuke, also known as the most cheerful Uchiha kid I've ever taught.

He's not perfect; he pouts, gets angry, could use some work on his handwriting, and isn't exactly very social or friendly, but that's mostly from his fear of fangirls, apparently.

Still, he actually _smiles_.

Like a _normal person_.

 _On a regular basis_.

And I've even heard him _laugh_.

Freaks me out, I swear to Kami-sama, after a lifetime of enduring scowling Uchiha and glaring Uchiha and stuck-up Uchiha.

Not to say Sasuke doesn't show some of those traits, but they seem to be from a desire to imitate his family, so he hasn't been completely lost yet.

Must have something to do with that older brother of his sheltering him or something; now _there's_ somebody who gives me the creeps.

Very polite, of course, and undeniably genius, but there's just something _off_ about him, I think, whenever his Clan is mentioned.

Eh, you can't argue that he doesn't love his otouto fiercely.

Always comes to pick him up and drop him off, poking him in the forehead to tease him.

If Uchiha Itachi is human enough to tease his little brother, well, I suppose he's human enough to not be of any worry.

Just...

He's younger than most _Genin_ , and yet he's already Jounin, killing more people each week than I've probably killed in my life.

There's something wrong about forcing a child to do all that, isn't there?

... I'd better make sure not to write that down anywhere or accidentally let that slip.

A day away from T & I is a good day for me, in my opinion.

So that's: **A** in Physical Education, **B** in Cooperation, **B** in Positivity, **B** in Classroom Attitude, **A** in Writing, **B** in Reading, **A** in Mathematics, **A** in History, **A** in Economics, **B** in Science, **A** in Geography, **A** in Chakra Theory, **A** in Weapon Theory.

[8 A's, and 5 B's out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Is an exemplary student, as expected of one bearing such a proud legacy. Sasuke excels in most aspects of his studies, consistently scoring very highly and rising above most of his fellow classmates. A bright future is certainly in store for him, if he keeps up this rate of improvement and information retainment. We are pleased to call him the Top Ranking Boy of his year for this trimester, as well as placing second in the Overall Rankings for his year for this trimester.

Minor concerns have been brought up about him occasionally giving off-hand remarks commenting on his classmates' progress, which some have taken offense to, interpreting them as derogatory towards their learning speed. However, there have been no serious accusations of intentional bullying or harassment, and he is all-around a very polite, well-behaved, and model student, who is a pleasure to teach. His stamina is average for a boy of his age, which he makes up for with superior speed and strength, out-performing all of the other male students in his year. Notes have made about his quickness in unlocking and sensing his chakra, being one of the first in his class to accomplish those feats.]

Flattering enough, I believe, with enough overcomplicated formality to appease those snooty bastards.

Last on the priority list... let's see now...

Ah.

Yes.

The Hyuuga heiress.

Another one from an infamously powerful but stuck-up Clan, although she doesn't seem to be as revolutionary in terms of her attitude deviating from the expected Hyuuga norm.

Kami, the overcomplicated nonsense is leaking into my _thoughts_ now.

Well, I can bear with that for a few moments; the Hyuuga will undoubtedly be 'grievously affronted' if their precious heiress' report is casual or dismissive, especially if they compare it to the Uchiha's.

They _will_ find out somehow.

I'm fairly sure that as soon as they finish reading over the reports they get each trimester, they go to town and 'accidentally' meet each other, subtly trying to out-do the other with pointed comparisons.

I remember seeing one of their little showdowns two years ago.

Those smiles and glares couldn't get more acidic even if you squeezed a lemon into those eyes they're so proud of.

But back to Hinata, back on track.

Not _as_ revolutionary, but bearable to teach, and thankfully lacking the arrogance and tendency to give sneering monologues that seems to plague the Hyuuga and the Uchiha.

She's got all of the coldness and intimidation, though; the concentration and smarts, too, albeit the intensity of her one-track studying mindset is a bit worrying.

None of the other Hyuuga I've taught have been so _focused_ , none of the Uchiha, either, and her seriousness can't be good for developing a childhood.

A bit _too_ mature, if you know what I mean.

 _Of course 'you' know what I mean because I'm thinking to myself meaning that 'you' is 'me' and if I can't understand myself what are the chances of somebody else doing it?_

Kinda like... that Itachi kid...

Doesn't have his genius, from what I recall hearing about him, and not his ultimately apparently rather gentle personality, but she's close to his determination and ruthlessness.

She's got a baby sister, too, and dotes on her, so I suppose in both cases that affection lends them some semblance of relatability.

But only up to a certain point.

Argh, I'm overthinking stuffies again.

Write the numbers, churn out some vaguely positive bullshit for their family to soak up, and get out of this place before I have to face the rest of my eternally thrice-damned-to-the-seven-pits-of-hell paperwork.

So that's: **A** in Physical Education, **A** in Cooperation, **C** in Positivity, **A** in Classroom Attitude, **A** in Writing, **A** in Reading, **A** in Mathematics, **A** in History, **A** in Economics, **A** in Science, **A** in Geography, **A** in Chakra Theory, **A** in Weapon Theory.

[12 A's, and 1 C out of a total of 13 graded areas.

 **Teacher Note:** Hinata shows vast promise as a great ninja, befitting her illustrious ancestry. She surpasses expectations in all lessons, aiding instinctive grasp with a diligent attitude towards practice and studying that we rarely see this young. Merely continuing this wondrous trend is sure to give her a good reputation and an excellent future Jounin-sensei when she graduates. We are delighted to be able to name her the Top Ranking Girl of her year for this trimester. She also placed first in the Overall Rankings for her year for Trimester 1, serving as a model example for the rest of her classmates to follow.

Hinata infrequently displays brief bursts of impatience at having to wait for her peers to catch up to her significantly advanced position in the coursework, but is usually very calm and courteous to both teachers and students. She does her teachers proud, although slight worries have been expressed over her self-imposed isolation and relative anti-socialness towards her future comrades. No incidents of bullying have been recorded, and she is not outright unfriendly, but she does not actively seek out others, and tends to politely turn down offers of group activities. Nothing detrimental has occurred to her academic performance, and Hinata is noted particularly as having a nice running form, and good flexibility has been shown during physical education's warm-ups.]

Uh-huh.. sign my name here... and _here_... and I just drop off this express packet at the post office or somethin', and I'm home free!

... for about five minutes before I need to write up the reports for the Clanless kids.

 _Fuck my sorely lacking-alcohol life_.'

He groans, hunches over his poorly-lit desk, and slams his face into it several times.

Maybe if he knocks himself out with a concussion, he can beg off the next day for medical leave?

.

.

.

 _Extra Scene:_

"You know," Iruka noted dryly, watching his colleagues in their attempts of getting thoroughly sloshed, "before I became a teacher, I used to envision what their bonding rituals were like. My thoughts at the time were along the lines of rejoicing over bringing enlightenment to the future of our proud country. Then I actually _became_ a teacher, and suddenly realized that all you guys really do as a tradition is go to a bar after work and drink."

"That's because," Suzume corrected him sagely, "all of our bonding is done at 5 a.m. in the morning cursing hangovers, scribbling last-minute lesson plans, and bemoaning our crappy jobs and shittier salaries over the eternally-broken coffee machine in the staff lounge, while sitting on lumpy rocky sofas."

"Not _exactly_ true," Daikoku protested, in the principle of the matter.

(If you're going to complain, complain it r _ight_.)

"Sometimes the coffee machine works. It just spits out this watery yellow-brown gunk that starts melting through the paper cups if you don't throw it out quick."

"Wait, are you sure that you didn't mistake the chemical disposal container for the coffee machine again? The students keep dumping their failed poisons and assignment acids in there, the sneaky little bastards."

"Isn't that a little discriminatory for the girls?"

"Fine. The sneaky little _shits_ , is _that_ better for your oh-so politically sensitive soul?"

" _What_ politics? We're Academy instructors, and we're Clanless, and we're Chuunin. We don't _have_ a say in politics."

"Oh. Right. ... Hey, are you gonna finish that shot, or what, Mr. Lightweight?"

Iruka sighed and pushed his cup over to Suzume.

* * *

 **#**

 **#**

 _ **The graded areas were partly taken from a blog post showing a translation of the final (Year 7 graduation) Academy grades for the Canon!Rookie 9. I added and changed a few things, though, since 5-year-old Year 1 Academy students aren't typically supposed to know any ninjutsu/genjutsu/taijutsu. Also, according to that same blog post, Canon!Hinata was actually tied for second place with Shino and Sakura with a 3 GPA; Canon!Ino had 3.33, and Canon!Sasuke was tied with Kiba at 2.8. In both cases, it was their personalities dragging them down, since C!Sasuke got an F in Cooperation with a C for Positivity and a B for Classroom Attitude, and C!Hinata got an F in Positivity (along with B's in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, the latter making no sense, since the Byakugan can see through illusions, although maybe C!Hinata just didn't have the motivation to go against a Taijutsu-based Clan in order to focus on improving her casting of Genjutsus?).**_

 _ **Interesting to note: out of the Canon!Rookie 9's final Academy grades, C!Hinata and C!Sasuke both got the most A's, which is 3.**_

 ** _Of course, their last year's graduation would be more difficult._**

 _ **Very brief omake: After Shikamaru's parents read his teacher's report, his mother was enraged and darkly plotted to get her son up early for some remedial, personal lessons over the summer. His father privately congratulated him on maintaining a perfect streak of B's, and taught him the Nara-honored skill of how to 'sleep' with your eyes open, relaxing into a shallow but restful meditative state, so that information still skims through cognition. In other words, Shikamaru learned how to nap in class and not get caught, even when a teacher tries to catch him off-guard with a surprise question.**_

 _ **After Choji's parents read his teacher's report, he was handed a bag of chewier snack foods, thus reducing the crunching noises by 48.9% next year.**_

 _ **#**_

 _ **#**_

 _ **~Reviewing is appreciated, and promotes world happiness, if not yet world peace.~**_


	28. Start

**Summary:**

 _Ice isn't calm. Ice is stiff and more fragile than you think, constantly cracking and refreezing. Saying someone has eyes of ice, therefore, isn't a compliment. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto._ _If I did, I'd have added more homosexual and bisexual characters, with at least one clearly asexual character. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it?_

* * *

 **.**

 **(kurenai wonders if she should cheer or cry or do both at having team 8)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

.

.

.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, and I will be your Jounin-sensei for the assumed future. Congratulations on passing my test. As we only did the most basic introductions before the test yesterday, today we will do a more exhaustive familiarization with one another, and then perform some individual evaluations, with a group discussion afterwards about things noticed during the evaluations.

"Teamwork is the backbone and the ribs and the neurons of Konoha's ninja. That is, teamwork sets the spine, which is the framework and the support. The ribs protect Konoha's heart, which is the determination and loyalty at the core of the Will of Fire. Konoha's brains are functioning off of the information gathered and the intelligence compiled by the neurons working together seamlessly. Faulty intelligence can result in many deaths and tragedies better off avoided.

"I suppose that what I'm trying to get at with this elongated metaphor is that teamwork is critical, vital, to Konoha's success as a whole, and to you as an individual. Every hero, every legend, every Hokage and Jounin wouldn't have gotten to where they are today without teamwork.

"Things aren't always the best, they aren't always optimistic and sunshine and prancing glittery rainbow unicorns in a meadow of sugar flowers and a river of chocolate. In fact, there'll come a point where it's the worst, it's negative and pessemistic and gloomy rainclouds and prowling growling raving madmen in a battlefield of cold corpses and a river of blood, but we get by. Why? Because we stick together, we take one for the team, we recognize that the team will take one for us. Because we either get by or we die, and that is the truth of the ninja life.

"From today onwards we are Team 8, and Team 8 is us. The greatest teams are those who can melt together into one being, and still retain their own identities and talents and thoughts. I am to shape you into that kind of team, but I will need your cooperation in order to do so. Do you understand?"

.

.

.

The three Genin in front of her-

 _Her_ three Genin in front of her, and kami if it isn't ten sorts of stunned shock sifting around in her mind at _that_ revelation, because _holy fuck_ she has a _team_ she has three _too-young too-inexperienced too-valuable_ kids who are _her_ responsibility.

Anko would have a laughing fit right now.

And they're all _Clan kids_ , too, _Clan kids who are all heir-apparent ohmyfuckingkami_ , which makes it _worse_ , since 'Yuuhi' isn't a Clan, since Kurenai was a stonily steady civilian kunoichi clawing tooth and nail and more than a few nasty personal genjutsus on the level of 'LSD mindfuck WTH?' to get up the half-broken ladder of ninja advancement, since she was a freshly promoted Jounin and now suddenly she's a _sensei_ and what if she accidentally loses one of the kids?

Would their Clan demand a bloody, gore-ish revenge?

Would she be demoted and essentially socially banished and forced to stew in her guilt and helplessness until her nameless grave?

The 'what ifs' aren't good to linger on, she knows this very well as many of her self-crafted genjutsus focus particularly on the torturous 'what ifs'.

So Yuuhi Kurenai breathes in.

So Yuuhi Kurenai breathes out.

She looks at her three Genin sitting in front of her and observes their reactions.

.

.

.

Hyuuga Hinata observes her right back, clear-eyed and steady-gazed with an unswerving sort of attentiveness, regal beyond her age, _heliotrope irises nonexistent pupils pin-straight black-blue hair_ and all, sitting very correctly in a position-perfect seiza, hitai-ate tied around her left upper-arm.

Hinata nods, a gentle dip of her chin and a soft incline of her head, murmuring in a steel-sharp voice, "I understand. The spine, the heart, the brains; all exceedingly vulnerable parts of the easily breakable human body. Instant death for two, permanent paralysis if done specifically for one. But ninja, villages, particularly ninja villages, are often surprisingly resilient, is that not your point, Yuuhi-sensei?"

The tone doesn't fit the gentleness and softness of Hinata's small nod, the words fitting even less.

(She gets the sense that for Hinata, the gentleness and the softness of her nod tell far more than her actual verbalizing.)

Kurenai would be lying if she said that her female student didn't freak her out in that startlingly perceptive way of hers, amusingly cynical and depressingly jaded.

But she's a ninja, a kunoichi, a damned good one, and lying is her profession in a crystal nutshell.

Besides, the Hyuuga were always a bit unnerving when spoken to, and everyone who's a ninja has issues, so Kurenai decides to face that ruthlessness of hers when it's more convenient and they aren't just four strangers shoved together with the invisible bonds of paperwork, sitting in the shade of a leafy oak in a reserved training ground.

.

.

.

Aburame Shino speaks next, at Hinata's left, dark shades and oversized tan jacket, collared, covered, spiky chestnut hair sprouting like a durian's shell, baring no skin save for the strips of pale flesh reluctantly revealed by his face and ankles, cross-legged, hitai-ate tied around his forehead.

It makes him harder to read than the granite-faced Hyuuga, since there is such little uncovered skin to actually decipher, and what _is_ deciphered can easily be rendered null by other motions under that outfit of his.

(She's not a Jounin for nothing, though, no matter how green she may be from her rather new rank-rise, and if she concentrates it'd be easy to pick him apart, easy to pick Hinata apart as well.

Just...

Not as easy as it would be for a serious Kakashi, but he's elite, she's gotta remember that, and if she tries to measure up against him it'll simply bring down her spirit.

He's elite, no matter how much of an asshole he is.

And, well, she's not.

'Not _yet_ ,' she reminds herself. 'This Genin team is one step closer, one step closer.')

"I, too, understand. Why? Konohagakure is famous for their teamwork, and out of the other Five Great Nations, they have suffered the least losses and retained the best economy. In the Academy, the teachers and textbooks preach teamwork heavily, even as they pit students against each other in competition. Therefore, it is only to be expected that teamwork will be hailed as a large part of our life, that being the most logical conclusion to be drawn."

He pushes up the bridge of his glasses and goes silent again, his piece said, dissected, and thoroughly explained.

She's had dealings with the Aburame before, and regards them as fine ninja overall, if a bit too inclined to stick to their dry facts.

(They all have dark glasses, too. At this point, she wonders if they all have vision problems and especially delicate skin, or if it's just to prevent them from freaking out too many people with their kikaichu hives.)

The hardest part of having him as a student would probably be remembering to include him and making sure not to accidentally isolate him.

Shino seems to be the quiet sort, like the rest of his family.

Very prone to fading into the background, his most easily recognized traits being his large jacket and sunglasses preventing others from getting to know him deeper.

Someone who doesn't appear to have much of a personality beyond flat and smart and reasonable.

It is really being quite uncharitable towards him and others like him when people start thinking like that, because it's always more difficult to get rid of preconceptions than it is to form new opinions.

He isn't a cardboard cut-out filler, he has his own likes and dislikes and life, he is his own person, and Kurenai knows she has to be careful not to ever forget that last fact, lest she lose his respect forever.

(Aburame are silently notorious for holding grudges, infamous for being so reserved you can't tell if you've offended them or not.)

.

.

.

Inuzuka Kiba pipes up last, sprawled on the left of Shino, all feral smile and a furry parka that overlaid his actual hair, framing his face with it's red Clan marks instead, _leaning back flat legs one hand back supporting_ , the picture of friendly arrogance.

Easily readable; in a metaphor, her kunoichi student would be a drafted treatise chock-full of tangled reasoning and purposeful statements, her other shinobi student would be a dry but straightforward thesis essay scripted with predictable logic, and he would be an uncomplicated fiction story, engaging and dramatized and perfect for the age range of a tween.

Akamaru is nestled in his lap, eyeing her with beady puppy eyes, fluff and fangs and not-yet-cultivated-fearsomeness.

"Eh, that's not a problem! I get it; pack's pack, that's all there's to it. And when I'm an awesome ninja, of course I'll protect Konoha!"

Simple, not particularly eloquent, confident in the way that only a green Genin fresh-off-the-Academy-presses can be confident.

Honest enough, though, and enthusiasm's not really a bad thing.

She'll have to tone that down a bit and beat some subtley and stealth into him, of course, as essentials for a tracking team who will eventually be tapped to run covert seek-and-destroy/find-and-capture missions, or even the shadowy Intelligence jobs...

But still, he just might be her favorite so far, based solely on how much he actually acts his age, instead of the two creepily mature other kids.

Because they're just _kids_ , and some part of her squirms guiltily at aiding in the process of creating of child soldiers, nevermind that she herself was ( _is_ ) one.

Or, perhaps, as a _result_ of her being one.

.

.

.

"Alright, then," Kurenai says, with a surety and confidence that she doesn't feel in the slightest, "we'll be meeting together at Training Ground from seven to noon each day for warm-ups and team training, with an hour break from noon to one. Then, depending on the day, I'll be giving each of you personal training from one to five, or we'll be participating in teamwork exercises against another team, or we'll be building up stamina and improving teamwork by holding three-way spars until one is left standing. From five to six, we'll be doing warm-downs and discussing our day, to try and find ways to improve, and to see what _has_ improved. Understand?"

(She is a firm believer in having a schedule planned out, even if the ninja life rarely allows for a schedule to keep.)

Hinata dips her chin shallowly, imperturbable, Shino nods deeper, impenetrable, and Kiba grins with a raucous shout of agreement, impertinent.

Kurenai despairs, wallowing mutely for a brief, self-indulgent moment, watching them leave, each splitting off into different directions.

'I'm supposed to get these people into a _team?_ '

.

That night at the bar, she listened to everyone else's descriptions of their team, and perked up a bit.

In comparison, she essentially had one cool-personality who understood the benefits of teamwork, one neutral-personality who was used to working with himself, and one loud-personality who had grown up with teamwork embedded into his Clan, which seemed better than a smart loner/lazy-slacker, a forcible peacekeeper/motivator, and a powerhouse obsessed with ramen and orange/food and more food.

She walked out of that bar a little happier.

(And not just because Asuma served as a truly _excellent_ source blackmail material, provided you got him drunk on cheap sake first.

Because getting the good stuff isn't worth it, not when the drinker will inevitably vomit it all up the next day.)

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _You have to feel bad for Kurenai._**

 ** _She just exudes that floundering vibe of 'oh kami why me how is this my life like seriously #FML #OnlySaneWoman #CreepyEmptyChildStares'._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Review. Please. Really.-_**


	29. Everyday

**Summary:**

 _They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(chakra trick anecdotes)**

 **.**

 **[Age -?-]**

Rankings for jutsus are pretty basic.

The 'unranked' ones, however, as in below-E-Rank, are mostly labeled as 'chakra tricks'.

'Tricks' are the jutsus that are so simple, so easy, so mundane and unlikely to cause any harm, that they don't even qualify for 'actual' jutsu status.

They don't even require you to have the element affinity.

(Unless you have ridiculous reserves and terrible control and overload them with the equivalent of an A-rank jutsu's chakra demand, in which case _anything_ is likely to be a dangerous jutsu.)

They are the ones used everyday, sometimes even without conscious thought.

A decent ninja will learn their fair share of chakra tricks, and probably create a fair few of them themselves.

If they live long enough to have students, they may or may not pass them down.

Many chakra tricks are lost to the grasp of _Time_ and _Death_ , because ninjas as a whole aren't too keen on having tangible information where it might be stolen, thus keeping most jutsus and tricks either verbally passed down or compiled into heavily-sealed secret hidden notes.

It is widely believed, however, that each Konohagakure Clan has a scroll of their own that they guard in their private libraries, having their members record their chakra tricks for the next generation to learn and improve and build upon, whereupon they will then record _their_ chakra tricks.

That particular rumor is generally accepted as fact, because even if all Clan-ninja keep mum on the subject when asked, they all seem to be a bit _too_ prepared when it came to their reservoir of chakra tricks.

* * *

 _Some of the more well-known chakra tricks:_

 **-lighting a cigarette/pipe/cigar/smoking device with a finger-snap (fire)**

.

 _"Asuma, must you begin smoking those cigarettes? Your mother's going to have my hide."_

 _"Well, then, get off my back old man and let Kaa-san tan yours! This is what happens when the parental figure sets a bad example."_

 _"Young man…"_

 _"Old man…"_

 _"*sigh*. I may as well show you this trick, then. No need to have your mother scolding my ear off again for you burning your fingers. Watch closely. Channel a thin stream of chakra and concentrate it into your index finger, then-"_

 _Shnap!_

 _"-like that."_

 _"Like this?"_

 _Shhhhhhsizzle._

 _"Pfft!"_

 _"Sh-Shut up old man! I-I'll get it down, just watch me!"_

 _"Whatever you say…"_

 _[-three days later-]_

 _"Hokage-sama? Er, your son is missing, and has left a letter for you. It says, 'I'm going to be a Guardian. Or a monk. Whichever lets me smoke more and properly appreciates my awesome fire-snapping skillz.' What are your orders, Hokage-sama?"_

 _"*sigh*. *bangs head onto desk*. Damned teenagers and their teenaged rebellions. Okay, my orders are that one of you purchase the biggest floral bouquet you can find in Konoha, and one of you get a calligrapher to write a placating note. Hopefully Biwako won't kill me too badly if the flowers are expensive enough."_

.

 **-sparking dead electrical wiring temporarily (lightning)**

.

 _"Did the display-screen short out again?"_

 _"Yeah. The hunk of trash isn't going to last another Chuunin Exam."_

 _"It'll have to. Council refuses to up our funds."_

 _"Damned senile cheapskates. Alright, alright, I'll restart the wires, see if that works. Don't come blaming me when it starts glitching at the next Chuunin Exam."_

 _"Hey, isn't that fox kid supposed to take the next Exam?"_

 _"Maybe; it's around the right range for the peacetime graduating rules, and Konoha does tend to send in rookie teams for the experience. But then, so's basically every heir to every Clan in Konoha, so don't you go getting any ideas in that head of yours."_

 _"Won't stop me from staking a few bets."_

 _"Against, right?"_

 _"Nah, for."_

 _"What? Why?"_

 _"Haven't you seen the Hyuuga girl and the Uchiha boy hanging around him recently? He's bound to have picked up a few tricks. Seems to be the girl's pet project. Plus, he's under Hatake Kakashi's tutelage. Copy-nin Kakashi."_

 _"Well, the odds mean you'd make a killing if you bet in favor of him…"_

 _Zzzzzrip!_

 _"There, that should fix it. It should last through the next few years, anyway."_

 _"... argh! Stupid wire nicked me. I need some rubber tape over here, stat."_

.

 **-lightening muscles for increased reflexive action and speed (yang)**

.

 _"ANBU Wolf, this is ANBU Eagle, we've got a Code Ghost. Requesting back-up. Over."_

 _"ANBU Eagle, this is ANBU Wolf, I've received your message. Coming in ETA 30 seconds. Have you detected them? Over."_

 _"No, they've got some fancy cloaking tech going up. Eel hasn't a clue, either. Damnit, if Mole hadn't been out, they could've used their sensor pinging thing. Over."_

 _"Too late for regrets, soldier. Hold 'em off, I'm almost there. Over."_

 _Hatake Sakumo grit his teeth and willed his bulk to lighten, to speed up, to get him there before it was too late._

 _Code Ghost is one of the nastier situations, involving double-crossing and leaks and unknown intelligence._

 _A massive fuck-up, in other words._

 _Faster_ _faster_ _faster._

 _._

 **-upping the internal heat generated to stay warm on cold nights/days (yang/fire*)**

.

 _"Suna gets cold at night. So does the desert. Many times you will be camping in the desert on the way to or from a mission, in all likeliness. Therefore, in the interest of not having to spend more money to train up replacements for excessively lost Genin, we'll be covering a basic body-warming trick today."_

 _The Sunagakure Academy students silently began writing down the information on the board, taking notes from the teacher's lecture._

 _"Circulating your internal chakra is simple enough, and thus the preferred method of increasing or maintaining one's body temperature is to add your chakra into your bloodstream and circulate that at a faster pace. Those with a fire affinity, which is not common here, but has to be covered anyway, can convert minute amounts of their internal chakra into fire-aligned chakra to 'heat up', although too much will induce feverish symptoms and overheat the user."_

.

 **-lessening sweat production to keep heat inside for the above scenario (yang, unconscious)**

.

 _Snow Country._

 _Oh, how Sakura hated it._

 _Kakashi was fine, of course; he'd probably taken a few missions there in his ANBU days, and was thus more or less prepared for the chilly climate._

 _Sasuke was probably staying warm by the power of his icy heart and his Firey Brooding Skillz._

 _And Naruto…_

 _She was still debating whether or not he was keeping healthy by way of a heating seal, or by his annoyingly sunny attitude._

 _If he was staying warm with one of his special seals, maybe he could make another one for her?_

 _Sighing, Sakura huddled deeper into her bulky parka, and was at least grateful that the civilian tales of having your sweat freeze onto your face weren't coming true._

 _"Stop lagging behind there, Pinky! Follow Sassy-chan and Narky-chan's fine examples! Do I need to sign you up for lessons with Gai when we get back to Konoha so you can stoke your Flames of Youth to keep you going?"_

 _She rather wished that Kakashi's face would freeze off, though, if only to stop his [very unencouraging] encouraging yells._

.

 **-sparking a campfire (fire/lightning*)**

.

 _"No, Sassy-chan, you do not use a jutsu like the Goukakyuu on a measly three-branch campfire, not unless you want to roast the kindling to ashes and eat cold ration tonight instead of soup stock and whatever Sakura and Naruto can find."_

 _"Hn."_

 _"Watch this, Sassy-chan; I will dumb it down for you, since apparently you are not capable of making coherent words. Don't worry. I'm fairly certain that it's equally the incompetency of the Academy at fault."_

 _Snap!_

 _Szz..._

 _Fwooosh!_

 _Naruto, with an armful of leafy herbs and a fistful of roots, returned to the sight of Sasuke glaring at a merrily crackling fire._

 _"Fire looks good, teme."_

 _Sasuke glared harder into the flames, confusing Naruto._

 _The blond mentally marked it down as just another inexplicable quirk, like his irrational love for tomatoes and hatred for ramen._

 _(Naruto never considered the fact that Sasuke's irrational hatred for ramen may have started when he ambushed him one day during the Academy lunchtime and shoved a bowl of searing broth into his face, scalding his skin bright red and salty._

 _It also didn't help matters when nary a minute later, Hinata walked around the corner, and stopped upon seeing him, a clearly amused tilt to her lips._

 _Put that way, it's not really irrational at all._

 _... just try explaining any dislike of 'the holy purity that is ramen' to Naruto...)_

 _Then Sakura walked into their campsite, grasping a dead rabbit by it's ears, and complimented, "Nice fire, Sasuke-kun."_

 _She was more flustered and apologetic than confused when he broke his intense stare-off to give her a glare instead._

 _Off to the side, Kakashi giggled behind his omnipresent book._

.

 **-distracting visual effect (any)**

.

 _"Oy! Five-year-old pint-sized brats! Listen up!"_

 _No one listened; at least, not enough children stopped running around for there to be a discernible difference seen in the rumbling pit of chaos that was the 'Welcome Room' for the Year 1 first-of-schoolers._

 _Suzume growled, and clapped her hands above her head._

 _Now everyone stopped, drawn by the shower of blue sparks that curtained down from the stressed Academy teacher like a blinking dome of radioactive fireflies._

 _"Great, great. C'mon, brats, I've gotta shunt you off to Daikon now. Oh, and if anyone asks, his name is Daikoku-sensei. Feel free to call 'im Daikon, though. Head looks like a radish, he's just in denial."_

 _Half-an-hour later, when a student got brave enough to call Daikoku 'Daikon,' his left eyebrow twitched, slowly._

 _"I am so not buying Suzume a drink today..."_

.

 **-numbing nerves to reduce pain in that area, if underloaded will only tingle, if overloaded will cause nerves to deaden temporarily in that part, if seriously overloaded will short-term paralyze (lightning)**

.

 _"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitawwwwcrappityfuckinghellishshitshitshit-" Naruto gasped like a lifesaving mantra, blood no longer gushing from the giantass hole right over his heart._

 _No, it wasn't gushing anymore._

 _Now it was just oozing, which frankly looked much worse._

 _Like, instead of cherry punch pouring into a pitcher, it was strawberry jelly being pushed through a strainer and oh kami he's going to stop thinking about this before it puts him off of red food forever._

 _What was that trick Kakashi had shown them years ago?_

 _Numbing, numbing…_

 _He could really use some numbness right now._

 _Lightning wasn't really his thing, especially after what had just happened, but using a nature affinity you weren't aligned to just meant it took more chakra and control to achieve the same standard of results._

 _Still some chakra left, merely dregs and drops compared to his former sloshing ocean-tides, but right now,_ _anything over the burning-agony-burnt-pork?-aghgoawaygoaway goawayalreadykami-samadamnit of the giant gaping hole would help._

 _His russet-stained hand, nails not fully retracted from the Kyuubi's influence, cautiously hovered as close to the injury as he could without flinching._

 _Gingerly flexing his fingers, white sparks flaked off and fell like chips of starlight, sinking straight into his skin with a magnified sting that was rapidly erased with a draping cover of heavy-throb-cold-tingly-melting numbness._

 _Naruto released a less-pained sigh, and fell unconscious before he could contemplate what to do next._

.

 **-stimulate nerves to awaken somebody, if overloaded will cause nerves to 'glitch' and make that part of the body twitch/spasm involuntarily (lightning)**

.

 _"My darling trio of adorable itty bitty Genin! Time to rise 'n shine 'n start off on the ol' hiking trail!"_

 _A gloved hand poked through the tent flaps, three arcs of thin electricity leaping off his fingers to land bulls-eye on the scalps of his 'darling Genin', before withdrawing with a hum so sadistically happy it should be banned._

 _Groaning, Sakura stirred shallowly, then dropped back down, smothering her head into the comfort of her doughy cushion, giving it up as a bad job._

 _"It should be illegal to be that cheery before dawn," Sasuke muttered mutinously from where his dark hair spiked up, above the pillow he was valiantly attempting to bury his face in._

 _She couldn't even answer him, or properly relish in the fact that she'd shared a tent with her long-time crush, so tired was she._

 _"We can try pushing him off of a cliff," Naruto suggested amiably, looking considerably perkier than either of them (a.k.a. his face was uncovered and his eyes were open), but always up for good payback, especially when it concerned his hair._

 _(He'd learned hair-pride from Hinata-nee.)_

 _The Uchiha pondered it for a second, then pointed out, sounding muffled, "But he's a Jounin. He'd just dodge and push us off, and probably not even try to save us."_

 _"I have ready-made contact-activated paralyzation seals," Naruto dismissed confidently, "And I'll send Henged shadow clones to do it, so we're out of the danger zone. What do you think of a hawk-stag combo? The stag nudges him with the tag, the hawk has the back-up tag, and the hawk can always fly away if it misses."_

 _"Oh?" Sasuke sounded intrigued. "You finally got the wing-motions down, dobe?"_

 _Sakura groaned again, this time because she was apparently the only sane person in a tentful of murderous planners._

 _None of their plans would work on an Elite Jounin like Kakashi, and they knew that fact very well, so it was more of a pastime than anything else, but being in a tentful of recreational murder-planners seemed almost worse than the former option._

 _And kami-sama knows she's as crazy as they are, because who else would patch them up afterwards?_

 _"Still not going to work, you realize," she pointed out anyway, if only because that was her role in this crazy dysfunctional family unit: the voice of resigned reason._

 _"Pfft, realizations means embracing reality, and that's for losers who can't dream," Naruto easily dismissed once more._

 _Sakura was glad her pillow obscured the fond smile she couldn't repress._

 _Crazies and proud._

.

 **-warms a solid with externally generated heat usually channeled from the hands (fire)**

.

 _"And this, children, is how you heat a premade meal," Kakashi preached condescendingly, holding out a steaming ramen cup in front of him._

 _Naruto gaped and watched it with awe-filled eyes, because it was ramen he could eat in a mission-camp._

 _Sakura gaped and watching it with hunger-filled eyes, because it was food and she was starving and sick of cold ration bars._

 _Sasuke looked unimpressed, because he was Sasuke and an Uchiha and therefore required by cosmic law to be Duly Unimpressed_ _and Above The Plebeians_.

 _(Hyuuga just had to be_ _Duly Unimpressed© and  Always Have Better Hair Even After Sparring_ _._

 _Uzumaki probably were More Awesomely Badass Than You_ _and The Life Of Every Party, Even The Ones They Aren't Actually Invited To, Because Gatecrashing Is For Awesome Badasses_ _._

 _[And Hatake were, of course, The Ultimate Troll-lol-lols_ _._ _)_

 _Their sensei crinkle-eye smiled, and ruffled his sulky emo-panda student's distinctly duckish hair._

 _"Enjoy it, before you brats grow up and take missions without time to actually eat something resembling a meal. ANBU survive off of the tears of their enemies, the blood of their foes, and stone-hard protein slabs ground from bones and rock."_

 _They slowly edged away from the still-smiling Hatake, and eyed him dubiously in unison._

 _The problem was, they could never tell if he was lying or not._

.

The uses of chakra tricks are varied and valuable and especially useful for bailing out underprepared Genin, or for taunting underprepared foreign ninja.

Picking the latter option is considered unwise, unless you are of equal or higher rank.

Also if they're not hostile, but that's much less likely.

Ninja are basically _bred_ to be hostile and aggressive and at the very least, more than a little competitive.

When a ninja isn't aggressive enough to go in for the kill, quite soon they will be killed from behind by a thought-to-be-disabled enemy.

.

(Note: Clans are well-off and own land. Thus, they have private, guarded libraries. Thus, they have a safe storage place for sensitive information. Thus, they have scrolls of Clan techniques and history and chakra tricks.

Because those spaces are private and guarded.

The Konohagakure Library is not private or especially guarded.

They are also running on a limited budget and space.

So all jutsus there are E-rank to D-rank at most, there is no room to put down anything not vital, and there are no extra-staff to convince enough ninja to donate their tricks into the public domain.

Thus, no public freebie chakra tricks for everyone.)

.

 _* = can alternatively be used to achieve the same purpose_

.

* * *

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _More drabbles, kinda. These can be more safely taken as Academia!canon, although the characters aren't (usually) as inept as they were portrayed in this (crack-ish outtakes) chapter. Like, Sasuke knows how to make a campfire the old-fashioned way, of course. He just... doesn't really care, and wants to get it over with as quickly as possible. So... _**

**_Actually, yes, yes they are this inept._**

 ** _#_**

 ** _#_**

 ** _-Reviews are sustenance for whatever part of me is responsible for fulfilling the incessant demands of inspiration.-_**


	30. Question

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are the minds, the hearts, the souls any different?_ _[AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [_ _Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles_ _]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd clean up the rough designs in Part I with a re-release or something, because it just gets on my nerves whenever I compare those episodes with the glossied-up Shippuden ones, and the even shinier and polished movies. I know, I know, art evolution and technology improvement, but still. I cannot control the wince. The cover picture isn't mine, either._

* * *

 **.**

 **(impressions impressed upon the unimpressed)**

 **.**

 **[Age 8]**

"How!? How are you so- so- so- so much stronger!? Tell me how to get stronger!" he demands, eyes alight with fury and fists clenched shakingly at his sides, bruises and wounded ego forgotten, tossed aside in favor of attempting to seize the answers he seeks.

Hinata has no obligation to answer the Uchiha, spoiled, coddled, ungrateful little brat that he is.

He's in no position to start barking demands, either.

And, since they were alone (more like, he had tracked her down after-school, during her usual personal practice time) in the empty Academy sparring grounds (she had checked with her Byakugan, of course, and they were assuredly the only ones in a one mile radius), there was no one to watch them. Meaning, there was no one to report to her father, so she didn't have to be mindful of catering to his orders, his fixed ideals of how a Hyuuga heiress should act.

(Probably along the lines of, "The Uchiha are beneath the Hyuuga, and as heiress, you must reflect that fact. Defeat the Uchiha boy soundly, impress upon him the superiority of the Hyuuga, and leave.")

But disregarding his words, because words are oft worth less than the breath needed to produce them, there is something in his voice, in his stature, that she finds startlingly similar.

 _'Ah,'_ she thinks.

 _'He wants to become strong as well.'_

The key question was, _'Why did he want to become strong?'_

More importantly, _'Is his reason for becoming strong a good enough reason for her to aid him?'_

Hinata blinks, long and slow and unreadable, as she weighs her options, and observes the Uchiha further, to assess his motivations.

.

.

.

She will not deny that at age 8, she believes his attitude to be disgusting, his personality disappointing, and his desperate arrogance canceling out his skills combined.

Many would say that she has grown up as privileged as he, as they are both set to be inheritors of their clans, although she actually _has_ one left to inherit in something other than name, while his own merely consists of himself and his rogue ninja actual-heir elder brother.

Hinata disagrees; she _fought_ and _fought_ with hurt and pain and teeth so gritted she's half-amazed they haven't eroded away yet, she fought to _earn_ and _keep_ her position.

What has he done?

Still, perhaps she is too quick to judge, perhaps the hurt and pain from his loss of a clan is equal or greater than her hurt and pain from suffering to gain a clan.

 _Perhaps._

For 'reasoning,' the most obvious reason is to kill Uchiha Itachi, the renown traitor genius, and the one implicated for the Uchiha Massacre.

That is, after all, the reason he clearly and often states during the Academy psychoanalyzation tests masquerading as 'group bonding activities.'

"I will be strong, because I have someone I need to kill," he answered, one time when they were in the same assigned group, to the question of 'how do you see yourself to be like in the future, and why?'

And what, she wonders, will he do if he succeeds in the increasingly unlikely task of killing the older Uchiha?

Will that satisfy him?

Will he ghost around like an empty shell, devoid of a life's meaning then?

By basing his life on killing his brother, that leads to the conclusion of him not knowing how to live _without_ his brother to fixate on; what makes him think he'll be fine when he's gone?

… Of course, Hinata never told any of her musings to the Uchiha.

He'd probably take it as a patronizing preaching, one of the many he'd undoubtedly received in the stretch of time after the Massacre to this point in time, and obstinately ignore her advice.

(Besides, her reputation in the Academy is that of a quiet, clever, answer-ready, capable Top Kunoichi who is very firm on nobody bothering the unpopular blond she associates with.

Half the class might just _faint_ from surprise if, out of the blue, she suddenly chats with the Uchiha like they were close friends.

Or if she spoke even a fraction of her, at times, surprisingly sarcastic thoughts and comments.

Well, she's sure that the Aburame probably spends all his time thinking snarky remarks as well.

Perhaps the Nara, too, when he's not sleeping or complaining about 'troublesome' matters.)

But then again, the Uchiha had never so purposely sought her out for a confrontation.

.

.

.

Sasuke mistakes her silence for condescension, and interprets her stare as a mocking one.

He 'hn's' and turns, scowling darkly to himself, ready to leave.

Not saying 'wait', since Hyuugas didn't say wait (which was her mental excuse, anyway; truthfully, as there was no one other than Sasuke around to note down her 'un-Hyuuga' actions, she simply didn't want to appear like _she_ was the one asking for help), Hinata starts speaking behind him.

Clear and concise; Sasuke stiffens as he listens, slightly hunched over in a slouch.

"Take advantage of what is offered to you. Do not be prideful; there are people willing to give you instruction."

Then she steps lightly past him, heading for the Academy exit.

'Two lines?' he thinks in irritated disbelief. 'Two measly lines?'

It is more than she's said to him all year, actually, but he dismisses that.

He does notice her voice, however: a matter-of-fact, mildly chiding alto, low and smooth and cultured.

More emotion and inflection than her usual bland, coldly courteous mezzo-soprano, neutral and crisp and detached.

As if reading his thoughts (reading his body language, actually; Hyuuga upbringing emphasized good manners, clan loyalty, and lip-reading/body-reading as tools to couple with the Byakugan), she adds, purposely pleasant, "You have detained me past my normal time. I am expected at the compound. I shall see you at the Academy on Monday, Uchiha."

Sasuke opens his mouth (to say _what,_ he wasn't sure, although it'd probably be something that's simultaneous tsundere and offensive and socially awkward to the point of dorkdom), but the infuriating Hyuuga had already left.

Then he tints an embarrassed pink as he realized he was still thinking over her voice.

And the fact that she'd dropped the -san.

.

.

.

The next day, he boldly changes his seat, taking the always-empty chair to the Hyuuga's right, if only to see how she reacts.

(The blond boy in the lower grade-ranking percentile - _Uzumaki Naruto, he recalls_ \- who often bothers him with silly challenges, for some reason, takes the left chair every day.

The Hyuuga, for some reason, _lets_ him take the left chair every day.

It is strange, and odd, and not something he has properly taken note of until now.)

Sasuke has purposely timed his seat-change during the period when all the students in remedial classes leave, and the ones left are permitted to have a quiet sort of 'study hall'.

Which means they're alone the classroom right now, except for a napping Nara, and a napping Nara is usually treated as a sort of non-sentient furniture, anyway, because, in terms of usefulness, that's what they are.

Most of his fangirls are in the remedial classes, as is Uzumaki Naruto, so they are guaranteed some measure of peace. The Yamanaka fangirl and the pink-haired fangirl, his two more annoying and likely-to-graduate fangirls, are using their 'study hall' to have a contest of unspecified sort out in the courtyard, where occasionally faint echoes of yells filter in. The Aburame, Akimichi, and Inuzuka, who are the remaining non-remedial students, have also gravitated outdoors, for personal, individualized reasons.

She merely glances at him, imperturbable, somehow silently acknowledging his new position at her right, giving a polite nod.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Uchiha-san."

 _'Ah. Back to her neutral 'public' voice, is it?'_

This is something he's noticed before.

Her politeness, that is.

Before, it is a strange habit that he doesn't care about, other than to feel minorly grateful that at least she's not another overly-intimate fan.

Even when he's furiously trying to one-up her in their one-sided rivalry.

(One-sided, because it's really just him attempting to prize the status of first-place _everything_ away from her, while she continues to ignore their entire class' existence [with the infamous exception of Naruto] in an aggressive sort of serenity, like the 'Ice Queen' she's known to be.

Less commonly stated is her unofficial title of 'female idol', alongside Sasuke as 'male idol'.

Not that Sasuke will admit that it's one-sided.

Or that it's even a rivalry at all.

[Hinata is heiress, she _must_ be first.

"I expect you to do as well as your Branch House cousin, Hinata. Nothing less is expected, or tolerated, of a Hyuuga heiress. Unless you believe Hanabi to be a better fit?"

She _cannot_ lose, so she _doesn't_.

It's as easy as that.])

Now, he finds it to be an odd mixture of a confusing, amusing quirk, and a confusing, irritating annoyance.

As is a specialty of his, he dismisses the squirmy-fuzzy positive and zeroes in on the comfortably-familiar negative.

"Don't call me Uchiha-san."

The Hyuuga ('Hinata', he reminds himself, _kami-sama_ knows he's seen it enough times on the Rankings Board, heard it enough times announced as victor of a spar) blinks, and otherwise has no expression-change whatsoever, which is now mildly unnerving, and mildly reminiscent of…

 _Itachi_.

"Very well, Uchiha," Hinata intones with another dip of her head, bringing him back to reality.

She does not say anything else, does not linger on his face, does not remark upon the twisted scowl that must've been marked on his lips from the reminder of _**that man**_ _._

Illogically, he is not satisfied with this, and smooths out his features.

"Hn. Spar with me later."

Her book, a thick tome (from the Hyuuga library, actually, on recorded incidents of Byakugan breakthroughs and innovations) crawling with squished kanji fighting for space on the dusty pages, is carefully marked with a thin bookmark made of clumsily pressed white orchids between thinly-sliced transparent sheets of plastic.

(A present from Hanabi, which Hinata treasures; the _bookmark_ , not the book.

Although, it's not as if she'll be tossing the book in a lake or anything [and the only lakes in Konoha are either inside Compounds, in the Forest of Death, or in a select few training grounds].

The bookmark is simply more personal, even if the book is more important in the eyes of the Clan.

Years of hardening herself has taught Hinata to cherish those bits of softness she has left, and when it comes to Hanabi, she has a whole vat of it reserved especially for her.)

"Have you improved enough in the last day to warrant a rematch that will end differently?"

Fancy way of saying, 'What makes you worth my time?' without breaking her omnipresent verbal politeness.

Sasuke grits his teeth but doesn't quite grind them, and bites out his answer grudgingly.

"I have... considered your words. Several jounin and Academy teachers have agreed to instruct me further, as well as advise my personal training."

Hinata peers at him critically, noting his body language and tonal inflection, not quite willing to risk using her Byakugan to examine his chakra's fluctuations.

"You're lying."

.

.

.

He is, and that's the flatly told, straight-up truth.

Sasuke corrects himself, practically _feeling_ his eye twitch in irritation.

"I have sought out a few Academy teachers to instruct me further and advise my personal training. Some have agreed."

"That will not yield noticeable differences in the span of a single day's time. Much less in the span of 19 hours."

Observations.

Factual statements.

Noncommittally said, left to him to interpret his own meanings.

Absolutely anger-provoking, is what it is to him.

So he's forced to say outright what he wants, to admit he _needs_ something of her.

(Kami-sama, his Uchiha pride is being reduced from Kage-level to something vaguely approaching a well-functioning ANBU.

Any more deflating, and it might actually reach Academy-student level of pride!

Oh, the horror...)

"A sparring partner will be helpful in measuring my progress and aiding in training."

 _'I want to redeem myself by beating you'_ is left unsaid.

"A sparring partner is usually quite helpful, yes," Hinata agrees ambiguously, civilly adding, "I wish you good fortune in your quest to find one, Uchiha."

Okay, so not outright enough, it seems.

"I want _you_ to be my sparring partner," he emphasizes.

"Humans each have their own wants," she acknowledges, quite obviously being purposely obtuse.

Sasuke wants to growl in anger, but he suspects that that won't help his case.

Taking in a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, he rephrases his words using as much complex vocabulary and Uchiha formality and manners that he remembers, no matter how it rankles him.

"Will you, Hyuuga Hinata, grant me the pleasantly requested boon of accompanying my ascent to becoming a shinobi, in the role of an ally who shall increase our capabilities together?"

She snaps her book shut with a startlingly decisive sound, and smiles pleasantly at him, the first smile he's seen her make in the Academy.

"Yes."

The first smile he's seen her make... ever.

It's sharp and satisfied and severe, smoothed over by the intended pleasantness, but nonetheless, it softens her entire face, crinkling her nebulous eyes, lowering her sleek lashes, prompting two dimples to appear, and bringing out the deeply-buried possibilities of kindness and gentleness in her fair skin.

Instead of cool and distant, 'Ice Queen', 'idol', Hyuuga Hinata suddenly looks... human, warm.

(In the very recesses of his mind, in the back where his childish innocence is locked away, dare he venture to think that she even looks a bit... cute?

Adorable?

Ridiculously 'moe' and not 'kuudere'?)

A second and a blink later, the smile is gone and she's flipping through her book, clinically courteous and distantly detached once more.

"I will not object to sparring with you, Uchiha, if that is what the instructors have decided upon for the afternoon matches."

He wants to drop his jaw and gape; however, such acts would be unbecoming of an Uchiha, much less the _last_ (loyal) Uchiha.

Then the instructors come in to announce the beginning of the lunch-break.

Sasuke averts his gaze for one moment to retrieve his bento (made and gifted by one of the sympathetic, cooing civilians; he hates charity, yes, but he's... not the best at cooking, let's put it that way, and wasting tomatoes is an utter travesty of everything the glorious tomato stands for), and she's gone.

A piece of innocent-appearing folded paper on his desk is what stops him from hounding her during lunch and throughout the rest of the day.

Unfolded, it reads, in precise, perfect handwriting, the letters starkly standing out like solitary soldiers on a desolate snowy landscape:

 _I will be at the Academy Training Grounds afterschool from 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. If our paths cross, I may be amenable to a casual spar between acquaintances. The Training Grounds are open to anyone._

It is not signed; it does not need to be.

The sender is clearer than crystal.

He is somewhat sated, by having gained what he set out to gain.

Somewhat sated.

The other part of him, despite his best efforts throughout the day, consistently, persistently, lingers upon the note and mulls over how Hinata's signature would've looked like.

.

.

.

(Unnoticed, when the lunch-break is over and the students are filing inside in spurts and fits, the 'napping' Nara hazily lifts one eyelid open half-way, to peer narrowly at the two heads of black and blue-black hair seated side-by-side, soon joined by a spiky head of blond hair.

He thinks over what he overheard, because it was too troublesome to move outside.

He wants to groan.

"Even more troublesome," he predicts in a grumble.)

.

.

.

For the afternoon spars, he is not matched up against Hinata again.

Last time had been a special circumstance, since there was an uneven number of girls and boys (Namika and Arashi having gotten the flu), and thus the Top Kunoichi had been matched against the Top Shinobi, if only to resolve the instructors' idle curiosity.

(Rumors of betting occurred, especially after Suzume-sensei triumphantly burst into their classroom mid-lecture to shake Mizuki-sensei vindictively by the collar until he handed over a firstful of ryo to be submitted for close scrutiny.)

He considers taking advantage of his 'Last Uchiha' status, despite his professed hatred for taking advantage of it, but he senses that Hinata would dislike him using it like that, despite _her_ professed advice for taking advantage of it.

The last thing he needs is for her below-neutral opinion of him to chill even colder, and possibly back out of their agreement, thus wasting all of his time and pride-humbling today.

So he settles for beating Naruto as quickly as he can, exiting his match after a measly quarter-minute (new record, he notes), and closely watches Hinata's match while pretending that he isn't.

(Naruto's glare is expected. Hinata's blank stare is not. She almost appeared to show an expression, but it was wiped off before he could read it.

Does she know the Uzumaki?

Come to think of it, he can remember her sometimes leaving things on Naruto's desk, or calling out the teachers on ignoring him with the excuse of her sitting next to him, and he's seen them sitting together sometimes for lunch.)

She finishes her match in roughly six seconds, one for the Seal of Confrontation, two to dodge the weak, textbook-perfect strikes the pink-haired girl throws at her, then two more to twist around and shove an open-palmed but chakra-less smack into her solar plexus, the last second expended on the Seal of Reconciliation.

Her blank stare lessens slightly after she walks off the sparring field.

.

.

.

Their 'casual sparring' that day consists solely of her defeating him rapidly, then, as he struggled to get back on his feet, questioning him, "Why do you want to become stronger?"

His answer is always, "To kill my brother."

She does not comment, only lays him flat in the next round and questions again, "Why do you want to become stronger?"

"To kill my brother!"

Dodge, duck, punch.

"Why do you want to become stronger?"

"To kill my brother."

Bend, snap, kick.

"Why do you want to become stronger?"

"To kill," breathe, heave, "my brother."

"Why-"

"To-"

At the end, he is sore and tired and feeling that vaguely pleasant sort of bone-beat hollowness, taking pride out of her slightly ruffled appearance, even if it is vastly less worn than his.

He glances up when a shadow casts over his face, Hinata towering over him.

"Tomorrow," she says, and walks away.

Sasuke throws an arm over his face to block out the setting sun.

He is not sure what he's improved on during this series of successive spars, but he's pretty sure he's just passed some sort of test, and he's equally sure that Hinata's opinion of him wasn't altered in any way by the test.

Also, he's starting to sense a pattern here, with the 'talk and walk' routine...

A blink, and a grunt, and he rises to do some warm-down stretches.

They won't stop him from experiencing nine kinds of hell tomorrow, yet, with any luck, they should at least let him _move_ more or less regularly when he wakes up to the new day.

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 ** _This was actually mostly-written a few weeks ago; I just reread it and edited it and added some stuff today [10/24/15]._**

 ** _I tried to put it like how he'd react to someone like Academia!Hinata when he wants to ask a favor of them. I'm not sure if I succeeded. As for the start of his minor crush, it may be a long while until he recognizes it for what it is. He might not even recognize it as anything other than the urge to gain her recognition as a worthy opponent. In my train of thought, I believe he started reciprocating Canon!Sakura's affections only after he saw how strong she had become._**

 ** _A few days ago in the Academia timeline, Hinata beats him in an Academy spar almost effortlessly, which deeply angers him, especially after their one-sided academic rivalry. So he seeks her out to try and learn how she got so much stronger than him (which is mostly because Sasuke's 'drive' for revenge isn't found until he's 8, while Hinata's 'drive' to be strong is found at age 3, and she still has her clan while he doesn't, which only enlargens the skill gap), they start spending more time together, tentative-awkward mentorship-friendship-of-sorts._**

 ** _Hinata's connection to Naruto is briefly mentioned._**

 ** _I'll post the referenced fight as a chapter, yes._**

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 ** _-Please Review.-_**


	31. Burning

**Summary:**

 _The eyes of the Hyuuga are as cold and glittering as the iced-over snowflakes. Are their minds, their hearts, their souls any different?_ _[AU] [_ _Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles_ _]_

 **General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:**

 _I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have given Deidara more screentime, because he is awesome and a pyromaniac and thus doubly awesome. In fact, he's 120% awesomer, you could say. Oh, and the cover picture isn't mine, either. Should I change it? (Does anybody actually read this disclaimer?)_

* * *

 **.**

 **(smoke surely smothers souls, somehow)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is by immolation.

They are walking along a typical forest path, Sakura sneaking glances at him but mostly by Tazuna's side, Naruto closing his eyes but not missing a single step, himself periodically sweeping along their surroundings but focusing on the road ahead, and Kakashi covering their backs but nonchalantly reading his book with a chakra trick to flip his pages for him.

(Sakura, someone he very distantly recalls to be one of his most die-hard fangirls, is apparently being slowly weaned off of that habit. Point in case: her surprisingly professional team introduction, and her acceptable conduct so far.)

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is on his first C-Rank mission.

Nobody really expects much on a C-Rank, except maybe the clients themselves, but there is only so much of a reasonable effort to expend on vetting the 98% typically average commissions, and to be fair, that remaining 2% is religiously hushed up by the hawkishly observing higher-ups.

(And there is always somebody higher-up than you are, always to the edge of eternity and tripled-back-sideways, always, always watching. Point in case: who else tells the teachers what to say to the impressionable, eager young minds in their tentative care, and more importantly, who else makes sure the teachers say what they're told in the end?)

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is not the glorious or the vengeful or the detached (or, secretly, the uneasy) action he dreams it to be.

There are therapists for Genin who made first kills, mandatory therapy sessions for the continued wellbeing and reputation of a kinder Hidden Village, although admittedly, as a result of the lack of any sane therapists willingly choosing to be ninja therapists, those therapists are generally whatever Intelligence, Torture and Interrogation, and medical ninja that can be scrounged up with good reviews for human interaction.

(Academy instructors hold a brief, one-day lesson on mission kills, lightly touching on the psychological effects they need to keep an eye and an ear for, dressing the entire thing up in breezy euphemisms to avoid offending the civilian and expected-drop-out students' _gentler_ sensibilities, then mention the subject in only passing notice for the rest of the school years.)

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is the movement of a second that lasts for several minutes.

They're in a triangle formation, a classic guard formation, he and Naruto taking point to spring traps and clear the path, right for him and left for he, the greater experienced member of the team drawing up the back, as it was the more vulnerable direction for the majority of greenhorn Genin, leaving the most defensible position, the inside of the triangle, for the weak client and the close-quarters bodyguard.

(When the already-highly-suspicious puddle, for, after going through several of Hinata's Suiton traps, any body of water where there should be none automatically warrants suspicion, springs up a shinobi with spiked chains swinging towards them, he doesn't think, not really, he just _reacts_ and **moves-**

 ** _Fwooooooosssshhhhhhh!_** )

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is taking too long for them to finally die.

Fire is an 100% offensive element, one which can only destroy, not defend, and which has no real weight or mass to it, as it is literally just heat made hot enough to shimmer and _spark_ into visibility; most think it to be a very impractical attack, therefore, because unless you concentrate fire into a condensed beam or a similarly pressured _shape_ , it is far faster to crush someone under water or electrocute someone through lightning or rip someone apart with wind or even, simply, impale someone over earthen spikes, than it is to stand there awkwardly and wait for someone to die slowly by fire.

(Dry hair burns first and burns out first, then smooth skin and slimy guts and sloppy miscellaneous insides, hard nails and teeth and bones going _on_ _and on and on and on_ last, though of course the entire time soft fleshy bits like eyeballs and tongues are baking and cracking and leaking juices all over the place, and all of these entirely irrationally rational thoughts have never seemed so relevant as they are when they blitz around his emptily rattling skull and a viciously bright flower of flame blooms out of his scorched draconic mouth.)

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is a pale, vivid, simple, terrible, contradicting event that smells too strongly of smog.

He can't help hearing the scream of surprise and shock and, later, sentience-consuming _agony-pain-hot-hot-hot_ that claws out of the shinobi's throat and keeps on clawing continuously, the dark hazy silhouette in the bonfire of blood jerking around in an unbearable parody of a tribal dance, arms half-raised to clutch at his face but falling limp and twitchy before they reach.

(There is smoke rising out of the fire, smoke and screams, which are the only way he can track if the burning form is still alive or just a charred corpse.)

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, it is the most personally impersonal experience he has.

"Killing is a very personal thing," Kakashi says, Icha-Icha lowered and smile-folds thinned flat, gazing down at him in a way that makes him feel quite, quite small through the persistent numbness, arms crossed and back blocking the view of his undoubtedly curious and apprehensive teammates and client, branches around them in the small forest-space he'd pulled them into.

("It is very easy to kill, as a ninja. A simple throw of a senbon, a simple slice or slit from a shuriken. We carve with kunai and stab with knives, we play with poisons of both the metaphysical and physical sort daily. It is very easy, therefore, to make killing impersonal. That's usually what most ninja aim for, so as to lessen the impact on their mental health. Another train of thought, one that my own sensei subscribed to, is that every death we incur is a life ended before it's time, which means that every life cut short by our actions is a death that's our responsibility. You don't have to mourn everyone you kill, you don't have to feel guilty. But you cannot, you can _never_ , not feel _something_. Sanity is basically a choice as a ninja. Choose nicely, hm?")

.

The first time Sasuke kills someone, he wants to throw up but can't, so he just watches and makes sure he remembers every single sensation of it.

Every single horrible writhing pulse of flesh, like the shinobi is trying to wriggle right out of his burning skin, every single blackened patch of skin flaking off into soft charcoal bits, their cracking ugly scabs already crumbling ash in the wind, every single scent of fire and smoke and pure wavering heat, soaking his sooty eyelashes then slithering _anything-but-smoothly-slickly-sinuously_ down his mouth-throat-lungs-heart, every single tangled string of powerful merciful fearful weakness, entwining ever closer through his mind.

(What makes it _worse-better-okay-fine[?]_ is how Kakashi unconcernedly returns to his book cheerfully humming a vaguely off-key tune, Naruto doesn't look at or speak to him any differently after seeing him roast a man alive, how Sakura gives him the same tremulously unsure smile that still holds no wariness of what he could do.

Because what those gestures convey, sure and soft and certain, is, "We know what you can do, and we trust you won't do that to us."

Is it fine having matters like that? Does it make what he did okay?

Maybe is it better, the knowledge of a team who supports him?

 _Or is it worse, the knowledge of a team who supports him supporting him 'til the very end, 'til he loses control and burns them to the blazing afterlife as well?_

Some part of him feels worn and dirty and stained, and Sasuke just really, really wants a shower right now.

It looks like he's not getting one until they reach Wave, though, so he grimly hurries on and listens to Kakashi's lilting comment about the second shinobi who'd apparently gotten away.)

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 ** _Finishing another unfinished document on my account..._**

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 ** _-Review, please.-_**


	32. Execution

**_So, I think you all know what this is. I tend to do this for a lot of my aged fics that I look back on and cringe at, in an odd, defiant mix of shame and pride. That's right: I'm officially killing this off._**

 ** _Anyone who's also read my other killed-off fics would know that, most of the time when I announce a story to be dead and over with, I like to include the unfinished, doomed chapters, for the potential pleasure of any readers still interested in my old, incomplete, story-relevant work. I sometimes also write up a little explanation of things that hadn't been explained yet in the fic, and now never will be. (A.k.a., where the story had originally been intended to head.) If there's a specific reasoning behind my execution of the fic in question, other than simply a lack of interest in both continuing and/or going back to revise plot holes/poor characterization/etc., I'll usually also put that in here._**

 ** _So here goes, from the last described addition to the first..._**

 **Why I Killed This Off: Other than the general reasons listed above, I felt this Hinata was growing too close to a Mary Sue, or just uncomfortably OOC. Some of the other characters, or maybe even all of them, were also looking a little too OOC for the me-of-the-present. Also, this was never a very popular story in the first place, and I fully admit that it had been an indulgence-fic for the me-of-the-past. After losing motivation, there was no logic behind continuing what was meant to be fun indulgence thing, if it no longer felt like a fun indulgence thing.**

 **Some Stuff Never Explained So Far, OR, A Brief Past Timeline of Hinata and Naruto:** **Hinata grows obsessed with being stronger after the kidnapping scare. Early on in her training, she befriends a vaguely sympathetic Branch member, Hisoka, who she later has to kill through the seal when he's assumed captured on a mission. She becomes much colder after that, and also starts a side-hobby of researching seals out of a secret desire to save anybody else from Hisoka's fate. After realizing she's pretty bad at seals, and also doesn't have time or materials to learnt to get better, she switches tracks to researching sealmasters, in hazy hope of somehow reaching her nebulous goal through one. She comes across the Uzumaki clan description in a history book, and learns of their affinity with seals. When she notices an Uzumaki Naruto in her class, despite being a little skeptical of his un-Uzumaki-like coloring, she's still desperate enough to try and approach him. They develop a friendship, against Hinata's reluctance, and she becomes his sort-of-mentor. He becomes a huge soft spot for her. Fast foward a few years, and I'm pretty sure everything else has been explained at some earlier point? (This is actually elaborated on in some of the unfinished chapters below.)**

 **And, Of Course, Unfinished Chapters: (Never assume anything below is finished, though some of the smaller numbered drabbles actually might be. In the end, feel free to just interpret it how you wish.)**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(awkward family interactions and tenten sarcasms)**

 **.**

 **[Age** **11]**

That morning, at breakfast:

"Neji-san, may I accompany you to see your new Genin team?"

It was a Saturday, but the Hyuugas had a standard of 'dawn' for everyday's awakening. Even Hanabi was not spared this early rising, although of course the children didn't start 'sleep training' until they were at least 3, and had a certain degree of control over their impulses by then.

Hinata had not planned for anything significant that weekend, and as Cousin Neji's graduation day had been on Thursday,

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(desertion reactions, world-building, and yeah, that's it)**

 **.**

 **[Age 13]**

News of the Uchiha's desertion, leaving for Otogakure and Orochimaru's cursed powers, may be hushed up by the ninja. That's for the civilians, however. 'Civvies'. It would do no good for them to panic and raise a ruckus and alert every amateur spy within a 25-mile radius.

Truthfully, news of the Uchiha's abandonment of the village had spread rapidly among the hitai'ate-wearing ranks. In particular, the news had caught onto the Rookie 9, as they were being called, like a wildfire amid bone-dry skeleton trees. Affecting each one differently, jumping from tree to tree, but with unanimous negative reactions ranging from mild disapproval to shocked denial to howling, passionate outrage.

.

Team 8 fell on the spectrum of mild disapproval.

Hinata views it as the betrayal of a ninja defecting to another allegiance, and reacts with appropriate, obligated, societally-expected concern.

… Plus, she spent all that time sparring and instructing and, ugh, _socializing_ with that _ungrateful brat_ , and the Uchiha just ups and leaves with a sarcastic letter!? Is that all that her precious, could-be-training time is worth? A letter? A letter of _sarcasm!?_

-Is what she would think if Hyuuga propriety hasn't been ingrained into her through years of practice.

Using exclamation points is greatly frowned upon unless for the purpose of awesome/dramatic/life-and-death battle scenes, and using them with question marks is even more taboo.

(Much like the reaction of someone who has invested millions in a promising stock, only for the stock to suddenly go bankrupt because of insider trading: indignant, disappointed, annoyed at how much time was spent on an ultimately fruitless endeavor.

If, um, there were such things as a stock market in the Elemental Nations.)

(But seriously, she really, really hates socializing.

Call it a lingering remnant of her shyness-at-before-age-3 if you'd like, but she really, really hates it.

It'd be deliberately misleading to label her as 'shy' at the age of 13; all 'shyness' has been thoroughly beaten out of her through the years of trying to live up to the title of Hyuuga Heiress.

She is, however, still a very private person who values her privacy very much.

Privacy is a big issue in the occupation of ninjakind. Also, a big advantage.

Let's just agree that, for her to willingly socialize with the Uchiha is a _tremendous freakin' deal_ , okay?

And no, she doesn't exactly socialize with the Uzumaki, because her definition of 'socialization' means being in another's presence without third-party pressure or training or concerning ninja duties or with any discernible non-emotional payment, preferably including food of some sort, and extra points for something relaxing.

[Another bonus of food is that if it's too awkward/boring, it's always possible to simply concentrate on busying one's hands with utensils and excusing oneself from talking by eating.

And it's food.

Hinata may not look like it, but she can appreciate good food.

She has partaken of various ridiculously expensive dainty delicacies before, as befits the formal occasions the Hyuuga Clan are often obliged to make a showing at, yet after grueling training sessions or missions, anything other than tasteless crunchy ration bars is a welcome relief.]

Team socialization is practically mandatory, as well, and is contributory to improving kinship, teamwork, and familiarity, all of which will improve their mission showings.

So there _is_ a 'payment' of sorts.

Or maybe that's just Hinata trying to justify everything to herself.

Yeah, probably.

You may have noticed her miserable coping techniques and commendable ability to lie excellently to herself.

Kinda hard to miss.)

.

Shino's reaction is much the same as her first one: he didn't know the Uchiha that well, nothing beyond mere acquaintance as a fellow Konoha ninja and 'rookie', and thus only is disapproving because of the principle of the matter.

Ditching the village is a huge no-no, and, put into Aburame terms, is like an member deciding to rebel against their hive, striking off on their own.

They won't last very long, most likely, and it's just foolish to ignore the 'strength in numbers' mentality, as well as astonishingly ungrateful for the careful upbringin and safe environment of the freely provided hive.

So, yes, indignant for the principle of the matter.

All Konoha ninjas have slogged through their fair share of Academy pro-Konoha propaganda; at this age and rank, even _joking_ about leaving the village is treated with utmost shock and severe consequences on account of suspected treason.

If the right people (or, rather, the _wrong_ people) hear you saying something slighting against Konoha that bears the faintest chance of future abandonment, you'll be hauled off to T  & I in a Shunshin instant.

Political armor, occurring when you are a high-profile/important individual or under the backing of a high-profile/important indiviual, can only ward you against so much.

(A certain brown-haired Mokuton-wielding expert-of-the- **Flashlight-Scary-Face©** made it out of a certain shadowy organization because of the interest garnered from a certain pipe-smoking possibly-senile monkey-summoner and a certain silver-haired ANBU Captain.

A certain yellow-haired [because it's not really blond, c'mon let's be honest, it's freaking _yellow_ ] seal-inscribed expert-of-the- **Orange-Jumpsuit-Pranking-Stealth-Mode** was not ever approached by a certain shadowy organization because of the vehemently emphasized protection from a certain robe-wearing possibly-stalker staff-user.

Every Clan Heir/Heiress is under a label of too-risky and too-public to kidnap/recruit into a certain shadowy organization, since it stands to reason that their Clan would very loudly protest having arguably the most valuable child of the next generation stolen, and very permanently _end_ the people responsible for the theft.

[There are always those idiotic, foolhardy, stupidly-brilliant few who dare to try and kidnap one of them anyway, since a successfully kidnapped, young-enough-to-be-brainwashed Clan Heir/Heiress is worth their weight in explosive tags.

Which results in a spectacle such as the Hyuuga Affair.

Bloodline theft is a serious matter, and wars have been fought over such matters before the first ninja villages were established.]

As for Uchiha Sasuke...

Being the ' **Last [Loyal] Uchiha** ' and a certifiable **Bearer-Of-Good-Genetics-And-Looks-And-Talent-And-Money** [though not, unfortunately, a good personality of any sort], that means he is the sole inheritor of a richly noble history and, more treasured in the eyes of the Konohagakure Convening Councils [both the civilian and ninja ones], the sole hope for repopulating the Clan of an extremely-coveted Kekkei Genkai.

 _'Lenient'_ is a _vast_ understatement regarding the view of the majority of Konoha towards Uchiha Sasuke.

Probably the worst fear of the Councils is that their 'golden gander', so to say, will one day decide to waddle off in search of finer flocks to join.

And...

Now that worst fear is realized, and the weapon they sacrificed much to hone has turned against them.

Not quite irony, but close enough to count.)

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(train, copy, corrections, habit)**

 **.**

Okay.

The first Hyuuga-Uchiha joint-training session in probably forever.

She can totally do this.

Yes.

' _How am I supposed to do this_?'

(It's not even because it's Hyuuga and Uchiha the famed rivaling Clans, it's because the Uchiha Clan is down to one petulant and irrational and seriously messed-up angsting _child_ that the Hyuuga [who is but a child herself] doesn't quite know how to handle.)

It sounded so simple and sensible before.

Training.

Training is so simple and sensible, right?

Or at least it is for her.

Go out to the Hyuuga training grounds, practice some Jyuuken stances and test some Byakugan theories.

Go out to the Academy training grounds, practice some non-Jyuuken moves and test some weapon corrections.

Go out to the public training grounds, practice some chakra control exercises and test some meditation experimenting, while keeping the Byakugan active to memorize the chakra actions of those going through ninjutsus/genjutsus, as well as keep an eye out for any useful taijutsu moves.

Go out to the private training grounds, practice some (copied) technique recreation and test some personal ideas.

Simple, sensible.

(Technically, if the Hyuuga had ever decided to become ninjutsu/genjutsu users, they could very easily become masters.

They have the large chakra pools, the refined control, and the Byakugan to see chakra fluctuations.

If they simply recreate the chakra fluctuations in the right way, then they will have just copied a technique, much like their bitter rivals bearing the Sharingan.

The only problem is remembering all the different fluctuations and techniques without the photographic memory of the Uchiha, which makes it much harder.

Recreating a jutsu without knowing the seals, too, takes far more time and effort, and therefore they can't simply glimpse a technique in battle with their Byakugan and then miraculously produce it a few seconds later.

It may take several careful, purposeful looks to commit a technique's chakra movements completely to memory.

Although, on one hand, you would then have a completely seal-less technique, making it impossible for anyone other than another Hyuuga or an Uchiha to copy it, and on the other hand, it's completely possible to simple see the technique a second time and remember the hand-seals.

And it would probably make them even more unpopular, since no-one likes a technique-stealer [the very definition of an Uchiha to most enemy nations], even though that's basically the job of spies during peacetime and everyone during wartime.)

Occasionally she teaches Hanabi, which was the equally simple and sensible matter of sparring and correcting poses.

Now how to train a brat who is trying to become less of a brat?

… Wing it?

Winging it it is.

Just follow what her instructors would have done to a new Hyuuga student.

"I will first evaluate your skills. Run through all of your jutsus and katas, then show me the best of your weapon-handling abilities."

He complies easily, probably at least in part because of the flat ordering tone she copied from her Hyuuga-senseis.

She activates her Byakugan and carefully observes how his chakra reacts throughout his demonstration.

Textbook-perfect

 **.**

 **.**

 **20\. Rebirth**

(School!AU)

Everything was so drab.

Drab and dull and dingy.

The world was drab and dull and dingy, no matter how much people attempt to cover it up with glittering gold and shining silver, buying up beauty and trading off triteness.

Born in the cradle of luxury as one of the famed Uchiha, his circumstances did not change his worldview.

People were naught but a few steps up from animals, and deluding themselves was only a shallow film of color over the gray of life and death and existing.

Really, young children best displayed the core instincts of a human, at their savage best and shameless worst, before they grew and matured and muted their reflexes with the expectations of 'society'.

'Society' is just a word, an agreement by majority to certain rules, certain taboos, certain ways of acting and behaving and empathizing.

(Empathy can be devoid of sympathy; sympathy can be lacking of empathy.)

He always felt like there was something wrong about this world.

Some unfixable inherent wrongness.

Life should be faster-paced,

Brighter.

Intenser.

Adrenaline-fueled joy of being alive and breathing.

Not…

This.

Then he met Naruto, the blond heir to Namikaze-Uzumaki Industries (Nami-Maki), the up-and-coming new trade partner with Uchiha Enterprises, and he felt so familiar like he's definitely seen him before.

A splotch of vivid yellow in a greyscale world, even if he was an idiot.

(He was also his best friend and worst enemy combined into one pint-sized package of hyperactivity on caffeine.

Ramen-flavored caffeine.)

The intercom crackled on.

"We have landed. Repeat, we have landed. Katsu Airlines would like to wish you a good afternoon, and would like to remind all passengers that, when getting off, you should proceed in a calm and orderly manner. Katsu Airlines would also like to remind all passengers that, as always, art is an explosion, but do not worry, Katsu Airlines' planes will never explode, because then Hunter Banking will cut off their clay funding. Katsu Airlines' partner, Scorpion Motors, would like to add that their founder Deidara is an idiot of epic proportions whose concept of art is flipped. That is all."

After sitting through the strangely long and not-at-all-reassuring intercom message, he lugged his carry-on out of the compartment, and strolled off the plane, barely making it to the nearby bench before a loud voice hailed him.

"Oy! Broody teme!"

.

 **27\. Colors**

On the color spectrum, there are infinities of colors captured.

In equations, a whole new shade of a color can always be created, even if the difference between an existing 'named color' and the newly created color is blind to the naked eye.

As a fictional character once astutely summed up, "some infinities are larger than others".

Very true.

The Byakugan is truly quite a uniform color, with no variation other then the occasional tint on the blank chalkiness of the much-acclaimed Doujutsu, from outsiders marrying in and managing to somewhat overpower the dominant white-eye genes.

('Much-acclaimed', because to be honest, there were more threats of Sharingan theft than there were of Byakugan theft.

Really, after the first Shinobi World War, only Kumo kept on persisting in their efforts to land a Byakugan.

Everyone else gave it up as a bad job, on account of their firsthand or secondhand experience with the paranoia of the Hyuuga; the Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird, to witnesses, was an undeniably harsh and controlling and effective safety-measure.

Too much trouble to unravel without triggering several dozen fail-safes built in, especially with the possibility of their hard-won captive dying by a remote death-trigger.

The only way to get a Byakugan would be to somehow find an unused way of circumventing the rigid seal, or to kill/capture a Main House member, who were all unsealed.

Main House members were, as a rule, all viciously strong and mercilessly ruthless; hardened veterans of combat who were good enough to live far past the typical ninja life expectancy.

Their corpses were also swiftly recovered and warily guarded, before heading off to the incineration chambers. In cases of wartime, Main House members would often booby-trap their possessions and themselves to explode upon their death.

So, killing a Main House member wasn't exactly viable, and capturing one wasn't viable either, as once they were past a certain age, or if they were high-up enough to be heavily involved in their Clan, then they were kept away from risky missions and kept secure in the Compound/Konohagakure.

At least...

Killing/Capturing a Main House adult wasn't.

Killing/Capturing a Main House child...

It would be difficult getting past the alert squadrons of bodyguards and patrollers, but once one got to the actual child, there was little theoretical resistance to be found.

Perhaps that was what convinced Kumo that it was a plan worthy of a try.)

.

 **32\. Mist**

His new teammates always smelled very... interesting.

Well, his sensei ostensibly never wore perfume or used any scented toiletries, possibly even using a neat little genjutsu to mask her scent, because Kiba could never get a whiff of anything from her that wasn't emotion, the only thing not able to be masked.

(Possibly Kurenai had only begun this habit after hearing that she'd be training an Inuzuka on her prospective Genin tracking team. And Kiba knew for a fact that Team 10 was so definitely intended to be a tracking team.)

He knew what he smelled like, on an average training day: dog, family, whatever he ate recently, energy, earth, trees, fur and excitement and waiting.

Most Inuzuka smelled rather distinctly of fur.

The quiet Hyuuga always smelled of an assortment of different scents, mostly faded, probably from whatever bathroom routine she went through, flowery and fruity and sugary, a surprisingly girly array from the severe and neutral kunoichi.

Most Hyuuga smelled like that, actually, even the guys, although in hindsight it probably wasn't _that_ shocking for the guys to smell so good as well (and wow did that come out wrong), since they all seemed to have long and impossibly perfect hair and skin.

Probably a Hyuuga thing, to take such careful care of their appearance.

Shino he's known from the Academy

.

 **35\. Knowing How**

.

 **36\. Fork in the Road**

.

 **37\. Nature's Fury**

"Winter has come earlier this year," Hinata remarked idly, eyes rolling sideways to gaze out of the restaurant's window, one hand supporting her chin, and the other hand loosely clacking together her chopsticks.

"Weather trends would indicate that, yes," Shino agreed at her side, sedately making his way through his wild grass salad and winter melon.

She moved her eyes to watch his meal for a moment, and then returned to her vigil of the window, and the snowstorm outside.

Her teammate's food choices weren't her concern, so long as they weren't poisoned.

A warmth traversed her body, nestling in her stomach, as she took a sip of her steaming zenzai, looking down at the red beans in the soup.

.

 **43\. Party**

"The greatest force in the world," Asuma had once told his Genin very seriously, "is an Akimichi's cooking. And free food in general."

.

"The greatest force in the world," Kakashi had once told his Genin very seriously, "is devastating blackmail. And bribery in general."

.

"The greatest force in the world," Kurenai had once told her Genin very seriously, "is the subtle art of persuasion. And convincing coercion in general."

.

"THE GREATEST FORCE IN THE WORLD," Gai had once told his Genin very passionately, "IS THE POWER OF THE FLAMES OF YOUTHFULNESS!"

.

Therefore, when Ino and Kiba decided to throw a "Yay-We-Aren't-Dead-From-The-Invasion" party, and managed to drag both Sakura and Tenten into it as well, they combined the lessons of their senseis to devastating effectiveness in getting all the Konoha 12 to agree to come.

.

 **45\. Stirring of the Wind**

Naruto's windchime is a ragtag ol' thing, gifted to him by the Konohamaru Squad + 1 (Hanabi) for one of the past New Year's.

It's ragtag, but it's also beautiful, because the work put into it is visible.

They all contributed a bit of the material, and presumably had Hanabi put it all together, since she has the best dexterity of them all.

Konohamaru gave the carved silver saucer, flipped upside-down for the cover, thoroughly cleaned of all remnants, now leaving only the faintly sweet scent of well-aged sake.

Moegi donated carefully saved strips of oddly twisted metal and heat-warped bronze or copper.

Udon put forth his best feathers and most brilliant cloth samples, delicately weighted with smooth grey pebbles.

And Hanabi had volunteered the strongly woven silk thread used to 'stitch' the pieces into completion.

(Really, at this point, she's just not part of the K-Squad because 1., she prefers to be her own boss, and 2., it's more fun riling them up as the antagonist.)

Everyone helped in gathering the prettiest riverstones and picking out glass marbles from shops, and Naruto was informed that more than a few had unfortunately been destroyed in the process of figuring out how to drill a hole clean through them.

(In the end, they asked Hanabi to ask her sister to help, and Hinata had given it a go with a needle-thin chakra-pierce. She'd graciously consented to drilling the rest of the pieces as well, claiming she needed more precision practice, anyway.)

The windchime looks strange and often lopsided.

It does it's job well, though, and when he needs peace to muse over his thoughts, he lays on his back and watches the windchime hung above his window.

Light hits it and tumbles out in sparkles and rainbows refracted, bruised differently with each sway and _clang-ching-tong-tink_.

Always changing.

Ragtag for what it's made of, beautiful for how it's made.

Beautiful for the love put into the production.

It tells him he's wanted in Konoha, and that, more than anything else, gives him the peace of mind he's forever searching for.

.

 **59\. Boundaries**

Sasuke doesn't feed the cats out of love.

He feeds them out of habit now, more than anything.

Actually, he never liked the cats much.

They used to frighten him with their claws and fangs and hissing and unpredictability.

But the Uchiha had had close ties with the nin-cats, and That Man had had a particular affinity and fondness for them, so he had sucked up his fear and learned to love them.

(Learned things are quickly unlearned.)

.

 **63\. The True You**

Once a month, Kakashi buckles down and tells his Genin life lessons with a hard, grave voice.

He usually follows it up with a practical test, given in a more lighthearted manner.

Today, it's motives.

"Everyone has a motive for doing what they do. It can be motive that seems silly to you, but which is equitable to a life-or-death matter in their perspective. Predicting someone's actions by understanding their motives and personality can be accurate to a certain extent.

.

 **64\. Pretense**

"Today, students, we will be playing Capture-The-Flag instead of the afternoon spars."

Hinata's eyes discreetly glanced out the window at what could be glimpsed of the 'playground'.

('Playground', as in a glorified training course to condition the mentally susceptible young children.

Ah, the fine establishment of the Academy.

Molding minds since the Nidaime's time.)

.

 **70\. A Place to Belong**

(Hogwarts!AU)

Briefly, in that year's Welcoming Feast:

"However, a fourth school of magic, and a rather reclusive one at that, has contacted us to join the Triwizard Tournament in the interest of improving global diplomacy in magicks. Apart from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, this year we will also be joined by our friends at the Elemental 5 Academy, who have informed us that they will provide their own housing and training grounds for their hand-picked contingent in case of room issues. Naturally, we have plenty of room, as the majestic Hogwarts is quite good in that area of expansion, but they insisted they feel it would be politer to not infringe overly so on our hospitality. As the two other schools presumably plan to follow Elemental 5 Academy's lead in procuring their own housings, this is simply a notice that none of you have to worry about sharing dormitory space."

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(chakra trick anecdotes, cont.)**

 **.**

 **[Age -?-]**

 _._

 **-firming the ground underfoot to prevent loud noises or clinging underbrush (earth/fire*)**

 **-hardening the epidermis layer of skin to lessen superficial injuries and lessen the severity of deeper injuries (yang, unconscious)**

 **-coagulating blood faster to scab quicker and slow bleeding (yang, unconscious)**

 **-faster information absorption and implementing rate after a shocking or traumatic event (yin, unconscious)**

 **-sparking neurons to fire faster and increase reaction and thought speed (lightning)**

 **-whisking off dust (wind)**

 **-cleaning the superficial layer of grime from clothes and/or person (wind primary, depending on severity there may be water and fire and earth mixed in, although no one has ever needed lightning yet)**

 **-heating/boiling a liquid, often used to purify drinking water of most impurities when on an extended mission (fire)**

 **-increasing blood flow and cell production to speed up healing time (yang, unconscious)**

 **-softens the ground underfoot to limit alerting noises (earth/water*)**

 **-charging batteries (lightning)**

.

.

 **.**

 **(no summary yet)**

 **.**

"Chakra control."

Naruto pouts, and stretches his arms behind him.

" _Awwww_ , really? But Hinata-chan, that's so _boooooring_. When ya gonna teach me all those super-awesome-really-cool jutsus, huh? Huh?"

She stares at him blankly, like she doesn't quite understand his words.

"If you do not have good chakra control, you will never be able to perform many jutsus. You have terrible chakra control, but that is merely-"

" _'Meer-lee'?_ "

"'Merely', as in 'just', or 'only', or 'simply'."

"Oh, okay!"

"As I was saying, your terrible chakra control is merely because of your vast chakra reserves. Which means you have a lot of chakra, Uzumaki," she explains before he can interrupt again.

"How _much_ chaztpa?"

"'Chakra', not 'chaztpa'. And as I would estimate..."

She made a seal-thingy with her hands and whispered something, making her eyes go into that freaky ghost state that she said can see through a lot of stuff.

"You have more chakra right now, as a 6-year-old, than most Jounin do. It is understandable that it is harder for you to control it, since you have not learned how to control it yet, and those Jounin have practiced for more than your current lifespan in order to reach their rank."

Her voice sounds kinda impressed; Naruto beams proudly, even if he doesn't quite get why.

Lotsa chaztpa- um, _chakra_ , is good, right?

Because he's gonna be the bestest ninja ever, which means he needs lots and lots of cool jutsu, which, according to Hinata, means he needs lots of chakra.

But...

Where does this 'control' fit in?

Naruto almost doesn't ask, because all the meany adults hate when he asks questions and they get really mad and make him go outside no matter if it's raining or not, but even though Hinata talks like an adult, she isn't mean, and she's always answered all of his questions, even when he can't understand some stuff she says and she has to say it again.

(Really, he's so happy that finally he has someone to play with and talk to, like- like- like a friend of his own.

He thought it was too good to be true when he sat near her for lunch a few months ago, and she didn't say anything about it.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(in hiashi's defense)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

Hyuuga Hiashi is many things.

He does not have time to list all of those things.

Suffice to say, however, he is well aware of his firstborn's animosity towards him, no matter how carefully she curtails it behind respectful words and obedient actions and just-inquiring-enough subtle rebellion.

d

d

d

 **[Age 11]**

 **[Age 10]**

 **[Age 9]**

 **[Age 8]**

 **[Age 7]**

d

dd

.

 **[Age 6]**

Darkness sprawls over the Hyuuga Compound, dragged hither by the resigned grasp of Night.

Dozens, no, _hundreds_ of alabaster orbs glint by candlelight, ghostly berobed figures silently circling below the marble altar in the ivory-plated gazebo, draped exclusively in snowy purity.

Three outer rings sweep right-left-right in neverending motion and rustling cloth.

A fourth, inner ring, stands stationary guard around the gazebo, carrying forth the waxen rods that appeared to pray for flickering fickle fire.

Unnatural white-hot flames contorted, twisted wicks impaling them, anchoring them, their frayed edges curling off into grayed smoke, destined to be carried up into the vast gaze of the starry heavens overhead.

There is a brief shuffle, smooth and soft, as the rings give way, pausing, parting, allowing four more similarly berobed figures entrance.

They glide across the paved pathway, light.

Ascending the slick curved steps, slight.

Stepping to a halt under the shelter of the gazebo roof, bright.

Hiashi takes up his spot on one side of the glassy, glossy marble table,

 _"crystals within  
_ _our gaze  
_ _diamond-sight cuts  
_ _through haze_

 _seeing further  
_ _than one can hear  
_ _clearing dangers  
_ _none to fear_

 _we are  
_ _the dragonborn  
_ _from seer-_ _prophet_ _kami  
_ _we are torn_

 _o_ _pen-palmed lifelines  
_ _genteel  
_ _a tap  
_ _death swifter  
_ _than slick steel_

 _eyes behold  
_ _polished pearls  
_ _clarity unfold  
_ _reality unfurls  
_ _power bestowing whole  
_ _new worlds_

 _divine snowfall yielding  
_ _Bearers of sin  
_ _inner madness  
_ _and the One that swirls_

 _breeze of surety  
_ _stone of strength  
_ _river of soul  
_ _light of sense  
_ _flame of spirit_

 _raise your head  
_ _towards the sun  
_ _praise the moon  
_ _when tales are spun_

 _sun in heart  
moon in head  
stars under skin  
shining lifethreads_

 _ribbons of blue  
_ _are how victory  
_ _is won_

 _red on white  
blossoming from fingertips  
from flattened palms  
make them bleed  
make them surrender_

 _we are_ ** _survivors  
_** _crafting pyres_

 _we are_ ** _victors_** _  
quieting desires_

 _we are **detectors  
** unmasking liars_

 _we are_ ** _Hyuuga  
_** _building fires_

 _Hyuuga  
_ _Is  
_ _You  
_ _Me  
_ _I  
_ _We_

 _togetherness in unity_ _as one as all as us_

 _clan is kin is comrade_

 _This is the vow of the Hyuuga."_

Hinata exhales, deep and slow and content, something settling warm and heavy all around her.

She closes her eyes, bows her head, and presses her hands into a prayer position.

The sing-song chanting, fallen to a single, lonesome call, echoes around them.

 _"This is my vow to the Hyuuga._

 _Will the Hyuuga accept my vow?"_

There is a moment of silence.

(Not tense, not expectant, just relaxed and satisfied and dreamy.

What happens next will happen.

It is a part of the Hyuuga rites that has never been analyzed or overly inspected, from lingering, subconscious _knowledge_ that looking too closely will not help understanding arrive.)

Then the large, elegant silk scroll glows blue, a brisk wind curls through the courtyard, and the simple candle set by the scroll bursts into a steady, unwavering white-hot flame at the same time as all of the other candles extinguish.

Strangely enough, the candle does not appear to be melting the wax or giving off any heat, th

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(trembling fingers of a furtive friendship)**

 **.**

 **[Age 3]**

Her first real, non-relation acquaintance Hinata will willingly call a 'friend', is a Branch House Hyuuga member who's 10 years older than her and aspires to be a librarian.

(Odd ones out, is that the saying?)

.

.

.

Hyuuga Hisoka is utterly unambitious in almost everything.

He strives to live a peaceful, calm, and hopefully rather long life, even as he accepts the reality of his inevitable fate.

Fate is kinda a really big deal in the Hyuuga Clan, in the Branch House especially, where they spend each day laboring for the Main House, and have no lack of time to mull over how their birthtime, maybe merely a few minutes off, is the only differentiating mark between the sealed and the sealers.

No lack of time to become resigned, become understanding, become indifferent, become bitingly bitter.

Hisoka likes to think that he is a well-balanced mixture of the former three.

Resigned to his position in life, knowing from the start of his childhood that he'd be sealed as soon as the next Heir/Heiress turns 3,

He also likes to think that he is a remarkably pragmatic individual possessing the common sense that is so uncommon in a ninja-populated world.

(Any world, really; Hisoka reads, and that includes more fantasy novels than he'd admit to.

Even in a chakra-less world, often imagined by various authors of varying renown to have wondrous technologies and many Amegakure-like cities, it seems there is always good, always bad, always that idiotic portion of the population that ought to be culled under the labelled claim of 'gene-pool cleansing for the greater good'.

Ahem, in the authors' opinions, of course. Hisoka is… neutral, on his opinions of the so-called 'greater good' theory.

Because, well, then is there a lesser good?

A greater and lesser bad?

What _is_ good and bad?)

(Neutral on his opinions, but passionate nevertheless in his neutrality, and endless in regards to his opinions' topics.)

Bookish, intellectual Hisoka is not exactly alone in his… liberal, free-spirited thoughts among Konoha residents.

In the Taijutsu-emphasized, close-lipped Hyuuga Clan, however, he sure feels like it.

So maybe it's an inner want for company, so maybe it's an empathetic surge of pity, so maybe it's knowing that the Main House lodgings are at least five minutes away, and will probably take about 200% longer to get to when _every part of you aches_ and _there's mud where there should never be mud_ and _oh freakin' kami why won't the kami-damned water-from-above very-much-unwanted-impromptu-soaking_ _ **stop**_ _already?_

(Um, ahem, this time in Hisoka's own opinions. And they may or may not be based off of prior torturous experience, from extra-extra-extra training sessions aimed to 'rectify' his subpar Jyuuken abilities.)

Either way, something makes him hold open his door, scroll tucked safely underarm, and call in the downtrodden Heiress as she miserably drags her shivering self across the slickly wet courtyard cobblestones, under the humid downpouring summer rain, on her doleful way to rest.

(Or perhaps she always looks that doleful, like somebody died from driving off a cliff to avoid a cat, and that cat was hers, and her cat died too, from shock.

Hisoka wouldn't know.

He's not old enough, _talented_ enough, or _trusted enough_ [don't be bitter, he reminds himself, don't be bitter because bitterness clouds the heart, fogs the mind] to be on any sort of Heiress-guarding duty, and thus has only caught fleeting glimpses of the Heiress.

Usually drifting around the Compound and accompanied by caretakers, or at formal ceremonies, when she trembles behind her mother [Hitomi-sama] and is occasionally pushed in front by her father [Hiashi-sama] for a few moments.

Although, what with the whole 'kidnapping incident' a few weeks ago, sightings of her frequenting the training grounds and poring over an open scroll in shady spots have risen quite a bit.

Motivation found, ne?)

It's worth it, though, to see her impossibly large opalescent eyes (the one thing truly tying the divided Clan together) get even _larger_ and _ooze_ pathetic gratefulness.

Even as they trickle out thinly veiled confusion and wariness, clearly wondering why someone would help her, much less one of the usually resentful Branch House members.

He wants to say something like, "Well? Are you coming inside or what? I don't have all day, and you're getting wetter by the second out in that torrent."

That would be unspeakably rude, however, and more importantly, if anyone heard him and reported it, he'd get 'seal-zapped'.

(The Heiress herself is rather unlikely to use the seal, or report it to anyone.

From what he's picked up from Compound chatter (because, of course, the Hyuuga are far too dignified to stoop down to 'gossiping' level), the Heiress is widely considered 'soft' and 'the bleeding-heart type'.

Not good for any ninja, much less one expected to lead the future Hyuuga Clan, a Clan of criticizers and nitpickers and superiority-complex egomaniacs who are all unfairly attractive and ridiculously skilled with a tendency to churn out emotionally-flat and socially-repressed genii every few generations.

Hey, Hisoka thinks it like he sees it.

Though, of course, he's not suicidal enough to say any of what he thinks or sees aloud.)

 **randome stuff here fill in**

.

.

.

One key characteristic, and some would say 'flaw', of the Hyuuga Clan's signature Jyuuken style, is the practitioner's tendency to stand their ground.

They are taught to hold their position, moving very little, and to block or counter instead of running away, since fleeing is seen as defeat, defeat is seen as weakness, and the Hyuuga Clan despise weakness above everything else, even traitors.

Even dodges are trained to be performed with minimal movement, conserving their energy for the precise sort of chakra handling needed to go on the aggressive offense typical of most Jyuuken katas.

 **randome stuff here fill in**

.

.

.

It is the day before her fourth birthday and she is thrilled, carefully and quietly _thrilled_ , because her birthday means another day of sitting demurely in a room full of too-noisy too-loud Clan children bearing gifts she didn't want while her father spoke with their parents and did political things and her mother lay weakly in her bed waiting for her to visit, yes, but the day _after_ her birthday means a day off.

Hisoka said he'd be back late today, and that he would show her the basics of cooking something other than boiled-water-with-things-tossed-in-and-flavoring-stock/soup.

Her mother likes hearing about her various kitchen exploits on her journey of food-crafting, a skill she can't teach Hinata herself on account of her movement-restricted state.

(It makes her face go all droopy and her smile shrink and her hands freeze limp when she thinks about _all_ of those skills she can't teach her daughter personally, so Hinata eagerly regales her with another tale with amplified cheer, trying to beat back her mother's sadness for another visit.)

Then her father calls her in to his study.

"Hinata," her father says, looking at her with deep eyes, deeper and strangely warmer than his usual cold appraisal, casting an odd sort of _something_ that held the potential to be very thin empathy, perhaps some nascent sympathy.

"Hinata," he repeats, firmer and more forcefully this time when she doesn't answer, his callused, broad hands grasping her own twiggy, clearly-veined ones with a delicate kind of fragility, like this is a first one for him, this concept of 'consolation' vaguely existing just outside of his understanding.

"Hyuuga Hisoka is a Branch member of our Clan. He is nonetheless of our Clan. When a member is presumed missing in action, and likely either grievously injured or otherwise disabled, Clan policy is to... extinguish them, to prevent bloodline theft. There is not a better way to word that. Any Hyuuga would see it as a mercy to die rather than to unwillingly aid in bloodline theft, whether through terrible experiments or non-consensual... bearing or siring of children. Those children will not lead happy lives, Hinata, and likely he will not live long enough to even know of them. Do you understand this, Hinata? This is a truth of ninja life."

His voice is surprisingly gentle, solemn, cupping her uncontrollably trembling fingers.

"It would be a comfort. Quite possibly his only possible comfort before the final comfort of the Shinigami's kingdom. Would you not grant him that last possible comfort? It will be your duty as Clan Head. And... as a... friend."

There is a slight stress on 'duty', a slight twist about the intonation of 'Clan Head', a slight uncertain cadence to the tremor of 'friend.'

Subtle, subconscious.

He does not seem to notice.

She does.

Hinata closes her eyes.

 _'Is this my way to becoming strong, to becoming Heiress? After Heiress is Head...'_

"Yes, Otou-sama," she murmurs in a very small tone, her words falling mechanically.

Guiding her fingers through the necessary seals, her father steps closer.

A pause happens mid-way on the last seal.

"Now," he says softly, an expression she can't see with her eyes closed on his face, "you will feel several hundred glowing dots, correct?"

Her nod confirms it, because she does not trust her words to convey the heady, faintly obscuring rush of _warmthlightlife._

 _The shine of a night sky is just the ghost's breath of dead and dying stars, but they are glorious in their passing nonetheless._

"Those are all of the sealed Hyuuga. All of the Branch House. Concentrate on thinking his name. It helps to picture his appearance what memories you have of him."

Another nod, shallower this time, faintly distracted.

 _How to pick a gold fleck, a dust speck, out of a madly thrumming galaxy's wreck?_

"You should be narrowing in on a particular dot. When there is a single dot left, it will enlarge into what he would look like if you viewed him through the Byakugan. That is, his body outline and chakra circulation system. Push chakra to your hands and finish the seal to complete it."

Hesitation.

Hiashi, patient, steps back and takes away his hands.

Hinata needs to do it herself.

Fingers shaking madly the entire way, she slowly, slowly, finishes the seal.

He wonders when she will notice she's crying, as he watches her stumble down the hallway in a hasty, half-blinded departure, her built-up composure crumbled.

.

.

.

Somewhere in between the borders of the Land of Frost and the Land of Lightning, a feverish, forcibly sedated barely-teen passes away silently in a caravan.

Five minutes later, on a periodic check-up, the guards of the merchant wagon curse viciously under their breath upon finding the corpse, the dull light from the cover-skins reflecting off their slashed hitai-ate.

"So much for that bounty from Kumo."

"Yeah."

The body, fast-cooling, is unceremoniously stripped of valuables and then pushed off the quick-moving vehicle, landing in the mounds of power-sugar snow glittering everywhere in the Land of Frost, left behind within seconds.

The body cools even faster, and is soon piled over by snow and frozen in perfect preservation.

Such is the way of unfeeling nature.

If one would melt the Land of Frost's snowdrifts, they'd find a country-wide cemetery, burial grounds dedicated to the lost, the forsaken, the forgotten.

Snow is pretty.

Beautiful.

 _Gentle._

Not nice.

Nobody ever mistook snow to be nice.

.

.

.

Hinata is rather quiet on her fourth birthday, even for her.

She absently accepts another present, thanks the giver with a polite nod and some soft, meaningless pleasantries easily sliding off her lips, returning swiftly to her somber thoughts.

Hisoka...

That _seal_.

 _There has to be a better way than that seal_.

Her fingers ache with phantom pain and the heaviest burden of all.

Guilt.

What a powerful, powerful thing guilt is.

It all went back to seals.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(a mission, kiba gets thinking, here be nobles, smiling slits 'n a slash)**

 **.**

 **[Age 14]**

 _"Team 8, you have been assigned a mission. Please report to the Hokage's office and await entry. He will be briefing you."_

"Whoah, seriously!?"

"The chances of someone managing to procure a genuine mission-scroll canister, the correct ink and paper, the authentic validation seals, and both acquire a Konoha messenger hawk and convince it to play along, solely for the purpose of a joke, are incredibly slim. Ergo, it is indeed serious, in the sense that the message is truly a 'real' mission assignment. Or, as 'real' as any of us are, to be more exact, since one can never grasp for sure if we are but butterflies dreaming ourselves to be humans."

"That's deep," Hinata acknowledges, smiling faintly at the reference that probably passes completely over her less stoic teammate's head.

She then side-eyes said less stoic teammate.

"And now that we have safely established that this message is most likely not a very high-quality forgery, may I commence my reading of the letter?"

.

Kiba somehow succeeds in creating an expression of simultaneous grumbling, pouting, shivering, and embarrassment.

 **Amused/Accused Side-Eye Guilt Look** , _activate!_

Also, Hinata is scary when she goes back to her super-polite and super-formal speech.

The Inuzuka Heir has learned this unexplainable lesson after many months being on the same team as the "Ice Queen/Princess".

They aren't in the Academy anymore, but she doesn't say anything when he starts nicknaming her 'Princess', first in scorn of her so-seen haughtiness, second in teasing of her thawing 'ice-cold' veneer, third in affection born of comradeship and the bonds between a Genin Squad.

See? Wow, even hanging around her has caused some of her wordiness to rub off on him. Shino's wordiness doesn't help, either, especially since Kiba couldn't understand half of what they were saying in the beginning in their ultra-intellectual smarty-pants 'discussions'.

All in good fun, still.

(Hey, _now_ he can understand 3/4 of what they're babbling on about!

That right there?

That's _progress._

Plus, he's kinda convinced that they're just making up words now.

Because really, what's a 'crepuscular'?

Or a 'nebbish'?

Or 'petrichor', 'ultracrepidarian', 'zeugma', 'chiasmus', 'nesh', 'synecdoche', 'persiflage', 'chthonic', 'panglossian', 'paralipsis', 'I am not prolix', 'dunandunate', 'tmesis'.

He's surprised he even remembers how to _pronounce_ all of those words.)

It's been months, and it's been fun months.

Kiba can honestly say that they're friends, now, good ones.

Kurenai has adjusted to teaching, Hinata has relaxed her tension, Shino has learned teamwork, and Kiba has figured out their pack order.

Having that sense of settlement, of safety, has calmed him as well, since he no longer has to test the unfamiliar boundaries each one of his new 'pack' set.

(They were _all_ testing each others' boundaries, slowly molding themselves to the people their lives will depend on, fitting each piece into the puzzle of peaceful coexistence.

Once those were understood, then they could begin the process of understanding each _other_ , and not just their boundaries.

By the end, Team 8 is a fluid network of collaborating machines, working separately to synchronize the whole, not well-oiled and not perfectly-honed but as close to it as the inexperienced determined Genjutsu specialist can achieve in less than a year.)

Alpha automatically falls to Kurenai, his sensei, his all-around superior in ninjahood, his seniority superior out of ninjahood.

When the Alpha is away, the Beta makes sure the others don't play.

And if they do, well, the Beta makes sure they _pay_.

So that's Hinata, the strongest and maybe smartest of their initially ragtag trio.

Strength to keep them in line, smarts to use that strength well, steely steadfastness to lead them through hell or high water, and just enough offhandedly sly snark to startle them out of boredom.

.

.

.

.

(Pressure points were vastly useful if one had the patience to memorize them and the discipline to properly learn disabling and enabling.

The Hyuuga had both virtues in well-bred strictly-trained _spades_ , relying on it mostly as a back-up for when regular Jyuuken/chakra shots won't work or can't work.

As it was, Hinata often felt grateful for the edge it lent her in combat, when she could add a bit of extra versatility by switching unexpectedly between using tenketsu and using pressure points, which were slightly different.

Tenketsu points needed chakra to disable/enable, costing more to _re-enable_ than disable, and were the ones that the heavily tradition-following Jyuuken-superiority-preaching members of the Hyuuga Clan preferred to stick to stubbornly, although it was required for every one of the Hyuuga to memorize _both_ charts and placings, and there were comparatively modern and liberal members of the Clan who used each without reluctance.)

 **(Note: I had intended for this chapter to have Hinata experience a near-death attack. She'll survive, but she'll also have a mental breakdown from the bottled-up stress and strength issues, confronting the real reason why she's so obsessed with strength - she's afraid of a helpless death. Her team will also realize this, and then yay, team bonding and the emphasis that Hinata's not perfect.)**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(words, quoting, ease, hawks)**

 **.**

 **[Age 12]**

(There are multiple crossed-out words, crinkles, and smoothed creases, as well as oddly messy handwriting from the usually vastly-concerned-about-appearances Uchiha, as if he had written it in a hurry with cold hands and a harried heartbeat and a malfunctioning pen on a rough stone bench under dim moonlight.

Oh wait.

He did.)

.

Strikethrough: _Dear Hello So __Hyuuga_ _Hinata-san __Hyuuga Hinata_

 _To Hinata,_

 _I have gone to take advantage of what has been offered to me. I have shuttered my pride and seen that there is a person willing to give me instruction. It is like you have once told me, many years ago._

Strikethrough: _ With thoughts of you __Sincerely_ _My Regards_ Take care _Stay strong_ _Until next time_ _When we meet again_ _ **L o v e**_

 _From,_

 _Sasuke Uchiha_

.

Hinata exhales slowly, after reading the piece of paper that had been delivered to her by one of the last remaining Uchiha-bred messenger hawks.

With the Uchiha now gone from the village, the hawks are likely to leave the compound, and disperse into the woods surrounding Konoha, since they now have no one tying them down.

Tying them down…

Yes, she had indeed said similar words to the Uchiha, many years ago, and recalls them being meant as advice.

Clearly, the Uchiha has remembered them well, and has purposely referenced those words.

Why?

A sardonic, 'taking-your-advice' insinuation?

A wry, 'it-all-goes-back-to-this' suggestion?

Ah.

Well.

Not her business anymore.

(It would be hypocritical of her to demur over his choice of mentor.

She _is_ , in an indirect way, the one to suggest seeking out teachers and seizing any opportunity available in order to maximize knowledge gained.

So she'll accept that blame, and trade it off for not blaming the Uchiha.

There, a happy draw.)

Hinata's hand tingles, and in the next second, the paper is reduced to ash by the chakra directed from her palm.

She flips her hand over, scattering the charred flakes into the training ground's floor, and casually steps on-and-over them.

'Pity,' she muses, settling into a Gentle Fist stance that is a tad more aggressive than her usual fare, which is already aggressive enough.

'He was finally becoming a worthy sparring partner.'

Fingers flash forward, blue lights glint, and the training dummy explodes into shreds.

Hinata retracts her arm, breathes out steadily, steps to her left, and repeats the process, until the entire row of dummies are decimated.

Then she heads to her room without a glance back and requests for some tea to brought to her.

She plans to do some heavy studying up .

The Uchiha will return, she is sure of it.

( _Sasuke_ will return.)

She plans to be well-prepared for that returning.

(As a second thought, Hinata mentally writes 'visit the Uchiha hawks' on her To-Do list.

Apparently, the Uchiha found no one sufficiently tying him down.

The least she can do is give his _hawks_ something to tie _them_ down.

They are, after all, such a remarkably fierce and _loyal_ breed of fighters and scouts, once you earn their respect, as the Uchiha had once demonstrated to her, so proud was he of one of the last remaining legacies he possessed.

Like he possesses them no longer; leaving Konoha is as good as giving up his claim.

She may as well take up the duty.

The hawks are veritably summon-level, and are familiar with her, since the Uchiha often introduced her to the flock and let them watch as they sparred.

Such a valuable asset, if used properly, maintained in a happy state, kept healthily balanced.

[The same can be said of the Uchiha. Or, as his unofficial title seems to be, 'The Last _Loyal_ Uchiha'.]

[Very pointedly, Hinata makes note of these parallels, and promptly erases the note from her mind.

Then she goes off to find some of those Forest of Death chakra-squirrels that the Uchiha hawks adore so much.

Great Jyuuken practice; defend herself from enemies, Byakugan-track the wriggly little bushy-tailed creatures, and hit them with a bolt of chakra expelled from a perfectly poised palm.

Also great for venting out subconscious anger.

… Just sayin'.])

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(how to spam bullshit)**

 **.**

 **[Age 14]**

Writing mission reports was not a job that any ninja particularly liked.

They accepted it as a tedious, necessary, hum-drum mundane task on the grand ol' checklist of life.

But they didn't have to like it.

Some were more amiable on the matter than others, complacently tackling each report like a top student tackling an extra-credit essay.

Some steadfastly anchored themselves into the realm of neutrality, professionally giving their report with everything required, nothing extra.

Some would prefer nothing more than to never have to write a single mission report ever again, and then it'd _still_ be far too soon for another, their reports curt and short and probably generated without once glancing at the guidelines and layouts.

Team 8 was no different.

.

 **Yuuhi Kurenai, Jounin, ID 010881**

 **A-rank Theft, Code Specter**

 _We departed_

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(swings, seals, steps, and snacks)**

 **.**

 **[Age 6]**

Research, research, research.

For the past two years, any bit of free time Hinata had that wasn't already allotted to her mandatory 'rests' had been dutifully designated to research concerning Fuuinjutsu and sealing in general.

History, theory, practitioners...

Anything she could scrounge up from the Hyuuga Library and the Konohagakure Public Library she read, analyzed, broke-down, and reanalyzed some more.

Research, research, research.

Hisoka had never left her mind, not really, just slightly shifted and nudged backwards a bit to make room for her new knowledge.

He was the 'drive' for her seals interest, the mental battery powering her determined devouring of all the sealing information that she dug her fingers into.

His much-beloved and much-frequented libraries saw a lot of her, nearly as 'lot' as the training grounds did.

Questions were asked, of course, pointed and prodding questions, about why exactly would the Hyuuga heiress-apparent be suddenly researching seals.

That whispered of a certain progressive attitude.

A certain progressive attitude that worried the Hyuuga Elders, the Council Elders.

Worried Elders were aggressive, suspicious, pushy Elders.

Her father inquired, one night over dinner, about her interest in seals.

She, prepared for months, smoothly reeled over her pre-made statement.

"I

"Aa," he said neutrally.

But the next day, he told her during breakfast that the Elders had backed off, and that she was free to continue her research.

Something of the approximate, anyway, just much more formal and with many more words.

 **.**

 **.**

 _ **Welp, it was a good run, I think. But this is goodbye.**_

 _ **Thank you, readers. For everything.**_


End file.
